


catch the fireflies

by shanivoneverec



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Angst, Catra Singing, Developing Friendships, Diplomacy, Drama, Drama & Romance, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Future Fic, Hurt/Comfort, Insecurity, Jealousy, Political Alliances, Post-Canon, Protective Catra, Romance, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Smut, Tribadism, and they all get new outfits yay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:15:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25624249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shanivoneverec/pseuds/shanivoneverec
Summary: Catra understands that she has to share Adora, especially when She-Ra is invited to the first Intergalactic Conclave since Prime's defeat. But as they face new challenges on an entirely new planet, both find themselves terrified to lose everything they've built together thus far.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 37
Kudos: 195





	1. Chapter 1

_Under the authority of Her Excellence, Lady Magistrate Mairi, Grand Councilwoman and Minister of Foreign Relations,_

_We of the planet Novaskall hereby extend a formal invitation to the warrior She-Ra, Princess of Power, to attend the first Intergalactic Conclave following the conclusive demobilization of the Horde Armada._

_If attending, She-Ra – and any accompanying persons – will be housed in Nova Falls Palace, located in the Protection District of Heimfall Underground, as tradition ordains._

_An answer is requested to the Secretary of Foreign Relations at She-Ra’s earliest convenience._

Adora stares at the letter for the hundredth time, tracing her fingers over the dried ink. In truth she can hardly see the words; the cabin she shares with Catra is dark and cool, illuminated only the smallest bit by the almost ethereal, comforting glow of First Ones’ tech lining the walls. But she’s memorized this letter, has read it over and over again since Glimmer first stormed into her and Catra’s room, at a pretty indecent time no less, absolutely fuming with rage. A particularly stressed Bow had trailed behind her with beads of sweat on his brow and a knowing grimace on his face. 

Adora sighs, smirking softly at the memory, and brushes a clump of sweat-damp, tangled hair out of her eyes as she reads the last line, which is clearly written in a different hand. The words are clumsy, stylized, compared to the restrained and practiced calligraphy of the rest of the invite.

_P.S. There are some who question the logistics of your mission, though I assure you, you are not the only one who wishes to see magic restored to the universe. I look forward to speaking with you personally on this matter. – M_

“A waiting list!” Glimmer had shouted, flapping the letter in front of Adora’s face. Adora remembered how Catra swiped at it irritably from where she had been nestled underneath their sheets. “Queen Glimmer of Bright Moon had to be put on a waiting list, but of course _She-Ra_ gets invited no problem. You didn’t even ask to go!”

“Relax, Sparkles,” Catra had groaned after Adora took the letter from Glimmer’s hand, scanning over the words in panicked confusion. “Starla, Tallstar and Jewelstar will get you in. Didn’t you say they had connections or something?”

“Sorta kinda,” Bow had interjected, rubbing Glimmer’s shoulders soothingly. “They’re cousins to Queen Astraea of Siderion, and she’s going.”

“I mean, Etheria was kinda trapped in Despondos for centuries. You can’t blame them for not knowing.”

“We saved the universe!”

“Yes, we did,” Bow had chuckled, nuzzling Glimmer as she continued to fume.

Adora hadn’t paid much attention to most of that conversation. Only two years after the fall of Prime and she was already faced with endless challenges and people desiring her help – her attention. Adora had suggested that initial mission, had urged them to check on their allies elsewhere and continue to restore magic and help where possible, regardless of how many times Catra had urged her to slow down.

But healing the universe and observing intergalactic diplomacy were two completely different things. She remembers how it had felt when she first became She-Ra, and all of Bright Moon was suddenly watching her. She remembers the pressure, the pride, and the gravity. She feels that again.

Standing up, wobbling slightly on her aching legs, Adora tiptoes to her desk and sits on the cold metal chair, wincing as it chills her bare thighs. She switches on her desk lamp and pulls out the various celestial maps she’s sketched so far. Trial and error, but it helps her think and calms her nerves. She likes to have a clear direction in mind of where she’s going.

The navigation pad buzzes to life on the desk, and Adora quickly finds the route they’re taking to Novaskall and begins to sketch, making calculations in her head as she observes the readings on the pad, chewing on the tip of the pen as she loses herself to one of her newer hobbies.

She’s so enthralled by it that she doesn’t even hear Catra stir behind her.

“Adora?” Catra manages through a yawn. Adora startles, turning around in her chair to smile sheepishly at her. She expects a look of irritation. Catra hates being woken up before the alarm. Instead, she’s surprised to see only sleepy fondness on her girlfriend’s face. “Nervous sketching?”

“Nervous sketching,” Adora confirms. Catra nods, yawning again, then tosses the blankets off her legs as she stands up. She stretches for a moment, and Adora allows herself to admire Catra’s lithe form. She looks so soft, but Adora knows better. She’s spent the better half of this journey losing some – though not all – of their sparring matches to Catra in Darla’s makeshift training room.

Adora admires Catra’s arms as they reach over her head and her fingers comb through her own hair – tousled and chaotic and just as long as it had been before…well, before _that_. She admires Catra’s hiss of irritation as her fingers snag on a tangle, the way the hem of her tank top lifts and exposes her abs and adorable tummy, and the way her sleep shorts ride up along her thighs, forcing her to constantly pull them back down. They don’t fit her as well because they’re actually Adora’s, but Catra refuses to wear anything else.

Adora continues to admire her, wants to jump back in bed with her and stay there – awake and whispering about nothing. But there are important diplomatic matters to attend to in a couple hours, and Adora prepares herself for the lecture about how they need to sleep.

“Dummy. You’ll be even more nervous if you can’t properly introduce yourself tomorrow,” Catra hums, wrapping her arms loosely around Adora’s neck, leaning over to observe her maps.

“Today,” Adora notes, setting her pen down when Catra practically bats it out of her mouth.

“Hm?”

“Technically it’s today,” she smiles wryly up at Catra, who simply huffs and rests her chin atop Adora’s head.

“Which is why it’s ridiculous that we’re even up at this hour.” Catra blows at her hair poof, seemingly amused. Adora shrugs her off, twists in her seat and stretches, then smiles smugly back up at her.

“Do you even know what time it is? We’re literally in space, Catra.”

Catra blinks tiredly and taps the navigation pad, eyes narrowing at the harsh green light. Adora shakes her head as she closes out of one application and switches to another – a virtual clock. It’s almost three in the morning.

“My point stands,” Catra sighs, grabbing Adora’s arm and pulling her from the chair. “You’re coming back to bed.”

Adora laughs, falling to her knees for a moment as she struggles to switch off the navigation pad. She’s pulled back to her feet by Catra, who cradles her in her arms – while purring, too – and leads her in a drowsy dance back to the bed. They sway against each other to inaudible music before the backs of Catra’s legs hit the mattress and the two of them collapse on top of it together.

“We’re so smooth. We’re going to impress so many aristocrats,” Adora snorts. Catra shushes her, petting the back of her head and shifting so that Adora can bury her face in the crook of Catra’s neck. She affectionately tugs on Adora’s ponytail as the girl begins to snicker more, sounding more and more exhausted with each breath. Finally, she pulls Adora’s ponytail out completely, and Adora relaxes against her.

Catra soon finds that she herself can’t immediately fall back asleep, but rather than be annoyed, she resolves herself to devote her remaining energy to soothing Adora. Unlike Adora, Catra has no official titles. She has no one to impress, save the people she cares for.

After the war, after everything, she’d taken the necessary steps to heal herself. She’d attended Perfuma’s meditative therapy sessions. She’d apologized to the people she’d hurt, though not all apologies had been accepted. She’d rebuilt the good things and dismantled the bad things. And she’d done this, not only for Adora, not only for her new friends, and she was grateful to admit that she truly did love them, but also for herself.

It had taken work. So much work. But she’d still had Adora, and there had been times when Catra’s conscience had insisted she didn’t even deserve _that_. She’s proud to say she’s mostly past those thoughts (though she doubts they’ll ever truly die). But in reality, two years is…nothing. She and Adora had been enemies for longer.

With this in mind, Catra had only found it appropriate to avoid stepping directly in politics. True, Glimmer sometimes enjoys consulting her. They all do. She’s a gifted strategist and a member of the Best Friends Squad, loathed as she is to admit it.

But Adora can’t just avoid these things, not like Catra. She has too much to give.

“It’ll be alright,” Catra whispers just in case Adora has already fallen asleep. She frowns when Adora shuffles next to her, making a noise to confirm she heard Catra’s words.

“I know it will,” Adora whispers back. “I’ve done this a million times before. Just…not on this scale.”

“You’ll be great,” Catra says because she doesn’t know what else to say. “Just smile at everyone and remember that you literally awoke from death just to kick Horde Prime’s ass.”

Adora laughs again, the sound muffled against Catra’s pulse.

“Thanks for that,” Adora whispers, and Catra nearly chokes on the tenderness of it. She can’t bring herself to respond. Instead, she pushes Adora’s bangs away and places a soft kiss on her sweaty forehead.

“Want me to sing you to sleep?”

Adora sighs – a happy sound. She nods and Catra settles herself more comfortably on the mattress. She clears her throat and begins to trace Adora’s spine in the dark.

Catra had only started singing recently. She’d done it before, back when they were still in the Horde. But only around Adora or when she was absolutely sure she was alone. She’d sing lost lullabies from a part of her childhood she could hardly remember, slowly excavating the words with each hum or lilt in her voice.

Now, threaded together with her love, Catra sings a song she wrote herself and tries not to think of the approaching dawn.

_Look up and see, my darling one, the ghosts of fireflies,_

_Catch one quick, my darling; run, before the sun can rise._

_For if I had just one more wish, I’d give that glow to you,_

_And sparks of love would light that pitch and paint your sky anew._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As they enter the city, the Best Friends Squad is both overwhelmed and enchanted by Novaskall's beauty.

The alarm rings too soon for the both of them. Adora is immediately up, stuffing her backpack with essentials and sifting through the small closet in their cabin. Catra lets herself lay there a moment longer, stretching out lazily and yawning into her palm as she watches Adora scurry about.

“I’m packing yours, too,” Adora says, not looking at Catra as she tosses various articles of clothing aside. Catra quirks a brow as she holds up her favorite red jacket, frowns at it, then tosses it aside.

“No way,” Catra laughs. “There’s no way you’re leaving that behind.”

“It needs a wash.” Adora shrugs, then turns to smile coyly over her shoulder. “Besides, I know how much you _love_ my sleeveless top.”

“I do not…” Catra starts, her face turning scarlet.

“I mean, who could blame you?” Adora says airily, flexing one of her arms and patting it appreciatively. “Just look at these guns!”

Catra throws a pillow at her, then finally shuffles off the bed herself. She plants herself cross-legged on the floor next to Adora, picking up the jacket and folding it as neatly as possible in her lap.

“Take it anyways,” she says, tugging the backpack away from Adora for a moment to stuff the jacket into a free space. “You’re wearing the pauldrons anyways, right? The gold ones?”

“Do you think I need to?” Adora asks, struggling to find a space in her backpack for her maps and navigation pad. Her shoulders fall for a second before Catra takes the bundle from Adora’s lap and stuffs them into her own pack, to which Adora smiles gratefully.

“I think we’re going into unfamiliar territory and a little bit of armor never hurts,” Catra says, shrugging. Adora gawks as she fastens her pack up, having already sorted through the pile of clothes Adora left on the floor. Honestly, maybe Huntara had a point. Maybe Adora had gone soft. A soldier would’ve been packed and ready to move eons ago.

“Fine,” Adora sighs, rolling her shoulders and feeling her back pop. She smiles smugly at Catra, placing a hand on her hip. “But that means you gotta match me.”

“Shoulder plates aren’t really my thing,” Catra drawls, holding up her own chosen outfit for the trip. Blue – it’s new for her. But she had been told the navy blue velvet had complimented her quite well, and aside from being a new color and made of slightly different material, it’s almost eerily similar to the outfit she’d had before, back when she was still a Force Captain under Hordak. She shivers, thumbing at the patch she’d sewn in herself: a small white diamond inside a waning crescent moon. A symbol of her true allegiance.

“That’s not what I meant,” Adora smirks knowingly. Catra blinks, confused, before the realization hits her and she blushes.

“You’re such a dumbass,” she groans, stomping over to the ornate box on their dresser. “But fine. Whatever.”

“I knew you loved me,” Adora says in a sing-song voice. But she’s also blushing as Catra opens the box and delicately pulls out a small gold tiara with a ruby in the center – a gift from Adora on their first anniversary. Adora swallows as Catra fingers the gem slightly before securing the tiara across her forehead. It’s a perfect fit, and a perfect match for the tiara Adora had seen in her vision. Technically it had been decided that they could both wear it, but Adora can’t bring herself to. It reminds her too much of things from back then. Still, seeing Catra wear it is…different. A good different that fills Adora’s chest with all kinds of warmth and fuzzy feelings.

They finish dressing as quickly as possible. Adora wears the top she knows drives Catra crazy – the scarlet sleeveless one. To add insult to injury, she wears skin-tight white pants to distract Catra even more, one red stripe running down the side of each leg. She also foregoes the shoulder plates, and when Catra whines about matching, Adora takes her hands and gently pulls off her fingerless gloves before slipping them onto her own hands.

“There,” Adora smiles, moving to fasten her belt. “We’re not matching, but we can still wear something from each other.”

Catra seems to accept this, snatching Adora’s gold pin off the table and attaching it to her belt with trembling fingers. Adora’s breath catches as Catra tugs on the belt afterwards, pulling her closer and drawing her, one hand tenderly cupping her cheek, into the first kiss of the day.

“You’re going to be wonderful,” Catra breathes when they break apart. “Remember, they personally invited you. They want to help. Don’t try so hard to impress them, even though I know that’s asking the impossible of you,” she says, rolling her eyes.

“Okay, but remind me why I can’t just go as She-Ra?”

“Adora saved the universe too, you know,” Catra points out, and Adora smirks as she catches her staring at her muscles. Yeah, the sleeveless shirt was a good idea. Catra clears her throat, forces herself to meet Adora’s eyes instead. “Besides, when approaching a new enemy, never immediately lay all your cards out on the table.”

“No more game nights for you,” Adora snorts, breaking away from Catra. She reaches for their packs, slinging her own over her shoulder and handing the other to Catra. She cocks her head as her girlfriend takes it in her hands but otherwise looks stiff, tail lashing as she concentrates on something on the ground – or perhaps on nothing at all.

“You okay? I mean, I’m nervous, too. But attending a conclave like this isn’t exactly the same as overthrowing a space overlord and diffusing an ancient magical weapon.” She steps forward, placing her hands on Catra’s shoulders. “We’ve got this. These are just people, Catra. They don’t have to be enemies.”

Catra exhales, still stiff, but she reaches up to place a single hand over Adora’s.

“A _lot_ of people, Adora. Heimfall Underground is supposed to be a huge city. And cities are full of people with secrets.”

\- - -

They step onto the bridge not too long afterwards to see Bow in the captain’s seat, entering coordinates into the map projected in front of him. Glimmer is at the console, speaking with an unfamiliar individual who must be from Novaskall’s control center. 

Catra whispers a soft greeting to Melog, scratching their head as they brush up behind her.

“You will land in Zone 12 of the Priority Hangar,” the voice says, and Glimmer looks back at Bow who nods in confirmation before zooming in on his map. “Based on the information you provided, we believe this space should be big enough for…um, _Darla_. However, we have no records of your ship’s model in our databases to confirm this.”

“That’s understandable,” Glimmer says. “She’s a much older model. We appreciate your consideration regardless.”

“The communication channel has been closed,” Darla announces as Glimmer hangs up. She slouches against the panel and groans before finally noticing Adora and Catra standing awkwardly in the corner.

“Nice of you two to finally get up,” she says, crossing her arms. “Bow and I have been dealing with this stuff,” she gestures wildly at the control panel, “for almost an hour now.”

“Seems like you had it covered, Sparkles,” Catra observes, stepping forward to stare out Darla’s windows, admiring the planet as they inch nearer to it. It doesn’t look too different from Etheria, save of course for the bald spots marring the otherwise beautiful image – Prime’s work, no doubt.

“You don’t understand! There’s literally a _process_ to this, and there are dozens of other ships pulling in at the same time we are and I feel so out of my depth right now,” Glimmer grits her teeth, tugging lightly on an earring. “I mean, we’re in Zone 12. 12. As in, there are _eleven ships_ already in the zones in front of us.”

“They’re probably a lot bigger than ours, too,” Bow remarks, glancing up. “Based on the dimensions they were quoting us, our little Darla is going to have no problem squeezing into one of their spaces.”

“See! That’s good, right Glimmer?” Adora says cheerfully, slinging an arm around Glimmer’s shoulders, who manages to relax just a little.

“I just wish I knew more about this place,” Glimmer sighs, gazing tiredly out the window. “I did what research I could, but the Star Siblings are really our only reference and even they haven’t been here. But from what they told me, everything sounds super official, and I guess I’m just afraid of…coming across as uncultured? I mean, look at how long it took just to secure an invitation to this thing!”

“That’s stupid, Sparkles,” Catra chimes in, reclining lazily in her usual spot on the console seat as Melog purrs beside her. “You’re ‘Queen Glimmer of Bright Moon’. You’re the daughter of a sorcerer and an angelic being and you have more power in your pinky toe than that guy over the intercom probably has in his entire body. If everything we’ve heard about this place is true, you’ll fit in no problem.”

Catra feels relieved when Glimmer smiles affectionately at her, but can’t help but continue.

“If anyone on this ship is ‘uncultured’, it’s me.”

“Catra, you literally brought Adora back from the dead and helped save the universe,” Bow frowns at her. But then the ship rocks a little too far forward and he quickly returns to steering.

“Seriously Catra,” Adora chides, and Catra continues to stare out the window, frowning at herself. “None of us are uncultured. And none of us are going to be scared away by a little social interaction or diplomatic propriety. We have one mission: restore magic to the universe and look awesome while doing it!”

“That’s two missions,” Bow says.

“Okay, two missions. Sure,” Adora mutters. “Two very awesome and achievable missions!”

Catra notes how everyone goes silent as they continue to glide through Novaskall’s atmosphere, particularly when the damage caused by Prime becomes all the more clear to them: a scar of dead land extending as far as the eye can see. But she can see where they’re heading, too, and allows herself to admire the chain of mountains faintly rising in the distance, and just over it appears the light of their sun and she nearly loses her breath.

“I missed mornings so much,” Glimmer breathes, leaning forward as if trying to bask in the light. “Like, the starlight and nebulae out here are beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but...”

“I just missed warmth,” Bow hums in agreement. “I wonder if they have beaches on Novaskall,” he grins at Glimmer.

“Beach party?” Glimmer almost squeals in excitement.

“Best Friends Squad beach party!” Bow fist pumps, and while Catra has never really enjoyed the beach, she can’t help but be amused at their enthusiasm.

“Like the one we had on Siderion with the freaky red tides?” Adora asks, bracing herself against Glimmer as the ship dips a little, begins its descent into the clouds.

“Hopefully not exactly like that,” Catra murmurs from her seat, recalling the Star Siblings’ home planet. They’d had fun there, just checking in with their allies and celebrating the end of the war. She remembers it had been a mostly quiet visit, one lacking in stress or expectations. Except Bow and Glimmer had insisted they have a beach party, and while they had been understanding of her refusal to actually go in the water, they still insisted she lay upon the beach and soak up the sunlight. It was dreadfully boring. So boring, in fact, that she nearly dozed off and was only half aware of the water creeping further and further up the sand. A small wave of deep red, almost violet colored water splashing her toes was all it took to send her scurrying back up to dry land. According to Jewelstar, the algae in the water was responsible for the strange colors. The explanation did little to comfort Catra, however.

Luckily the rest of the trip was full of nothing but good memories; they had given instructions in sorcery, made improvements to the planet’s tech…and best of all, there had been parties with food, and loud music, and dancing – and Catra had worn a tux again. Catra and Adora had danced half the night away before retiring to their room to make good use of the rest of the night.

She hopes there are less beach parties, and more regular parties like that on this trip. She wants an excuse to throw another tux on, especially if it means seeing Adora’s face when she sees her _in_ the tux.

It’s relieving, Catra admits, to finally hover close enough to the ground to where they can no longer see the scar left by Prime. Instead, they’re soaring atop snow-covered mountain peaks, and while Catra hates snow, even she can acknowledge how beautiful the sight is. A heavy layer of mist blankets them for awhile, so that all Catra can see is white and shadows, and she holds on tight as the ship begins to rattle and quake, one hand snared in Melog’s fur, which is bristling just the slightest bit. And then the mist parts and suddenly they’re looking down at a valley between the mountains, and nestled against the cliffside is an absolutely enormous structure of stone and metal with various openings that appear to be sealed by magic.

“Wow…that’s…is that where we’re going?” Adora asks, pressing her face against the glass until it begins to fog up.

“That must be the Priority Hangar,” Glimmer notes. “It’s enormous…and look,” she points, “they’re still building! These people don’t rest, do they?” she blanches.

“And just think,” Bow adds with a wry smile, “they have two other hangars, too. But this one’s the fancy one, apparently. I’ve heard it’s only for, like, _really_ special guests.”

“Well, I’m glad we get the really special guest parking,” Glimmer laughs, the warmth coming back to her cheeks. “Maybe this won’t be so bad after all.”

“Attagirl,” Adora nudges her in the side.

Catra smirks and turns to observe the valley from their current vantage point. Situated next to a tower, which Catra realizes must be the control tower, the hangar somehow looks both brand new and ancient at the same time, carved into the mountain but also dressed in glass plates and metal columns, and there are reflective panels of some sort on the sloped roof; Catra thinks to herself that they look like First Ones’ tech. She also realizes that this building can’t possibly be that old because of how recently they started construction above ground, though perhaps these were First Ones’ ruins at some point. The architecture in general shares a striking resemblance to the ruins they’d seen in Etheria, though she still can’t be sure. And indeed, as Glimmer had pointed out, the building is still under construction. Scaffolding and metal beams can be seen stretching off into the distance, as well as a pattern of meticulously carved incisions in the mountain’s side.

Bow takes them down further, biting his bottom lip in concentration, and Catra tries not to appear nauseous as the ship continues to bump and rattle. And what’s worse, they are soon joined by other ships that whirr past, rather impolitely she thinks, and flock to their designated magic-sealed openings as if they’ve done this a hundred times.

“Okay, Zone 12 everyone!” Glimmer announces suddenly, mostly leaning on the console as she scans the numbered slots. “Look for Zone 12!”

“Uhhh….9…10…11….12! Zone 12!” Adora exclaims, pointing dramatically. “Right there!”

Bow eases the ship lower and they hover in front of the transparent purple barrier until it dissolves.

“Alright Darla, pull us in gently,” Bow commands.

“Affirmative.”

Catra throws her head back in a combination of relief and further anxiety when Darla eases her way in without issue and touches down. Their navigation system sounds, alerting them of the fact that they’ve arrived, and she wants to fast forward to the part where she and Adora get to take a nap in whatever suite they’ve been given.

They exit the ship in pairs, expecting some sort of entourage or welcoming party like when they landed on Siderion, but the only person to greet them in the roomy, stone chamber of Zone 12 is an official-looking young woman wearing a pin that Catra assumes is the planet’s crest or whatever: a sword and what looks suspiciously like a skull.

Glimmer and Bow are the first to descend the ramp, with Catra, Adora, and Melog following less eagerly behind them.

“I think my legs are falling asleep,” Adora whispers, leaning against Catra. Catra smiles but finds her thoughts otherwise occupied. That is, until Adora sneaks a quick kiss on her cheek and Catra is left flustered and glancing rapidly between a smug Adora and the attendant below, who may or may not have just seen that.

“Tag, you’re it,” Adora says, referring to the game they had going awhile back. They called it ‘kissing tag’ and so far Catra has the better score, due in no small part to her ability to maintain discretion and aloofness.

“Oh, just you wait, princess,” Catra growls under her breath, staring straight ahead and walking with new determination. “My moment will come.”

“I look forward to it.”

Catra bumps Adora with her shoulder, fixing a neutral expression on her face as they fall immediately behind Bow and Glimmer.

The attendant adjusts her glasses as she checks her tech. Her fingers are trembling and her voice is nasally and somewhat breathless. Catra notices her glancing quickly between the tech and Adora.

“She-Ra, Princess of Power. They said she was blonde, so I’m assuming that’s you,” she says while looking at Adora, and Catra hears Melog rumble slightly as she notices the light blush on the attendant’s face.

“Yup, that’s me! Though usually I’m a lot taller than this…as She-Ra, I mean. Of course.” Catra bumps her again before she starts rambling.

The attendant still looks kind of awestruck at her, but then shakes her head and lets her gaze fall on Catra and Melog. She looks back to her list.

“Arriving with two guests. They didn’t mention a pet.”

Melog growls in protest, their mane flaring up around them. The attendant jumps a little, almost dropping her tablet thingy as her fingers start trembling again. Catra reaches down to run her fingers through Melog’s mane, soothing them.

“Melog is not a pet,” she mutters through gritted teeth.

“Ah, of course,” the attendant answers, adjusting her glasses again. “My mistake. I’ll note down that all three are accounted for. It’s an honor to have you with us, She-Ra.”

Another blush. Perpetually annoyed now, Catra scoots closer to Adora and rather obviously slings an arm around her shoulder. Let the attendant blush at that.

Adora clears her throat and starts to reply, only to be interrupted by Glimmer.

“Queen Glimmer of Bright Moon and Queen’s Escort, Master Archer Bow,” she says sharply, and Catra feels both amused and sympathetic toward Glimmer, who up until this point has been completely ignored by the woman in front of them. “I believe we are on the list as well?”

“Oh, um,” the attendant shakes her head as if she’d been stuck in a daze and fumbles with her tablet. “Naturally, of course. Let me see…”

Catra smirks as it takes the attendant some time to find Glimmer’s name in her records, placing a well-meaning hand on her back as her foot begins to tap impatiently.

“Aha, there you are. Queen Glimmer of Bright Moon and one guest.” She nods politely at them both, then swiftly turns on her heel, leaving the five of them just standing awkwardly at the end of the ramp. They begin to share some questioning glances when she beckons with her finger for them to follow. “Follow me, please. I will escort you to the boarding platform for the shuttles.”

Catra doesn’t know much about this place, honestly, aside from that the city of Heimfall Underground is, as the name suggests, underground. In a cave, specifically. Apparently after Horde Prime had invaded, the survivors of the attacks had taken refuge in a cave and then sealed it with magic. Over the years, this cave would grow into the city as it stands today. But she also didn’t guess that almost _everything_ would be underground after two years of freedom.

The attendant loads them all onto an elevator, which isn’t completely unfamiliar since their visit to Siderion, but still makes Catra and Melog both jumpy like nothing else. This thing rattles and whines worse than their thousand-year-old ship.

When the doors open, however, and they all are able to tumble out and rejoice at having survived the elevator of terror, Catra is nearly frozen in awe at the sheer scale of this underground station. It’s multiple stories, first of all, which explains the excruciatingly long ride down here. And even though they’re underground, Catra is nearly blinded by the harsh array of lights glaring down from an unknown source, as if they had their own sun installed in here. It almost reminds her of the Fright Zone the way it was before – including the overbearing and constant humming of machinery, and the clouds of smoke that puff out of every which crevice and pollute the air with a thick mist that turns various colors under the lanterns that hang from the stone columns.

But what’s more, Catra wonders to herself what the city must be like if this is only the shuttle station. On the various levels that stretch higher and higher are metal balconies, and Catra can see strings of lights hanging off them, too. And there are lights coming from the windows next to said balconies; Catra guesses most of these places must be cafes or dining halls, perhaps a hotel or two. She can see patrons people watching at small tables on the balconies, pointing down at the shuttles and observing the chaos and the crowds carelessly.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” Adora breathes next to her ear, which twitches in response. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen this much… _stuff_ crammed into one space,” she laughs, gesturing all around them. “It’s almost like its own city down here.”

“Reminds you a bit of old times, though, right?”

“What?” Adora blinks at her, puzzled. “You mean the Fright Zone?” She gazes upwards, and Catra has to bite her lip to keep herself from grinning at the absolutely awed and adorable look Adora has on her face. Catra follows her finger to a sign up on the second story.

“Did the Fright Zone have a _cakery_?”

“What’s a cakery?” Catra asks.

“Maybe a bakery specifically for cakes?” Adora says, squinting at the sign. She seems to come to a realization, and her face turns hilariously sour. “Um, actually, maybe it’s a good thing the Fright Zone didn’t have them.”

“Oh no, could you imagine?” Catra cackles, draping an arm around Adora’s shoulder. Then Adora’s biting her lip to withhold her own peals of laughter as Catra puts on a fake posh accent. “One cake? Yes sir. Would you prefer the brown kind or the gray kind?”

The two of them are crying and sniggering against each other so hard that they don’t even notice when the shuttle swoops in behind them, its horn, or engine, or whatever that thing is blaring so loudly that it almost knocks Catra off her feet. Luckily Adora’s still holding onto her, grounding her for the moment.

“If you two are done cracking yourselves up,” Glimmer smirks, gesturing for them to hurry up, “we have a shuttle to catch.”

As they share a final smile and step onto the platform, Catra has one arm around Adora’s waist and the other on the back of Melog’s neck, holding them close to her.

“But you see what I mean with the Fright Zone thing, right?” she asks as quietly as she can while still being heard over the pounding heartbeat of the station and its innerworkings.

“I mean, sort of? Definitely the smell,” Adora says, making a face. “And I guess maybe the metal and pipes that are worked into everything. But I don’t know…it feels different.”

“Different how?” Catra asks.

“I guess…” Adora bites her lip, as if uncertain if she wants to say what she’s going to say. “These people have a choice. That’s all.”

Adora steps onto the shuttle first, then offers her hand to Catra. Catra takes it willingly, not replying. Even so, she understands.

\- - -

After getting past the initial formalities, which unfortunately involves another attendant person sorting through multiple guest logs on their tech, the squad is herded into a rather tight compartment just a little further back. Melog shrinks so that they can curl up in Catra’s lap, which helps, but their backpacks make things difficult regardless.

“Maybe I should’ve brought some of the guards,” Glimmer hums to herself, eyeing the backpack in her lap solemnly. “Did you see that one noblewoman from Eridani with all the servants fluttering about her? At the very least I could’ve brought someone to carry our stuff for us.”

“Glimmer, it’s okay,” Bow assures her, taking her hand in his and rubbing her palm with his thumb. “We’re just really efficient, that’s all. We don’t need the extra weight.”

“More like Darla doesn’t need the extra weight,” Catra chimes in, stroking Melog to calm herself as the shuttle begins to jerk. She’s sick to death of transportation. She wishes they had just walked. She wouldn’t even mind teleportation at this point. “Ship’s falling apart as is.”

“And I always fix it,” Bow shoots her a half-hearted glare. “The next time her systems decide to randomly reboot in the middle of a flight, or the power goes out, or our oxygen levels our low, I’ll hand the flashlight to you and you can take care of things while I drink coffee and lick myself.”

This shuts her up, but not without the tiniest of hisses. Meanwhile Glimmer and Adora are almost choking with laughter, and Bow looked relieved as Glimmer’s head comes to rest on his shoulder, her shoulders occasionally shaking as the chuckles soon die out.

Bow lifts a brow at Catra and Catra can’t help but look impressed at how he was able to instantly relax her. No wonder he and Sparkles are together.

 _Good job_ , she mouths.

The shuttle soon pulls out of the station, though the only reason Catra knows this is because she can feel the sensations in her chest as it starts moving, and the crystal chandelier above them begins shaking ever so slightly. There’s no window in this compartment, just couches and a small coffee table in between them. While it may bother the others, however, she’s used to dark, confined corners. They make for good hiding places…not that she necessarily needs to worry about that now. Not with her friends. Especially not with Adora.

She’s about to take a page out of Glimmer’s book and take a nap on Adora’s shoulder when there’s a knock on their compartment door. Without waiting for an answer, the door opens and Starla, Tallstar, and Jewelstar clumsily try to come in at the same time, which quickly proves pointless.

“Ouch, Jewel! Move!”

“Okay, maybe we should do this one at a time…”

“The compartment’s too small. Just forget it. I’m staying out here,” Tallstar says, crossing her arms outside the door.

“Hey guys!” Adora greets them, standing and tripping over the coffee table into a clumsy embrace with Starla. “Oof! Sorry,” she grins sheepishly, but Starla doesn’t seem to mind and simply squeezes Adora harder.

“I’m so glad you guys found us,” Glimmer breathes, standing more carefully to also greet the siblings. “None of us are really sure what to expect from this place.”

“Besides the fact that its capital city is in a cave and basically everything runs on magic,” Bow adds.

“These shuttles included,” Jewelstar notes, looking down at the floor. “Fuel crystals power them, but there are natural obstacles between the stations and the main entrance to Heimfall that can only be bypassed with magic. Honestly, you guys should feel right at home.” He glances at Catra apologetically. “Well, some of you.”

“Believe me, I’m used to it,” Catra sniffs, crossing her arms.

“Well,” Adora manages to straighten herself and Starla, placing a hand on her and Jewelstar’s shoulders, “do you wanna join us for the ride?” She gestures to the cramped space, ignoring the indignant looks from Catra and Glimmer.

“Really, Adora? Should I sit on Bow’s lap to make some extra room?” Glimmer raises a brow.

“I mean, you two are dating. I’ll sit on Catra’s if it’ll help,” Adora shrugs.

“You wish,” Catra retorts.

“As kind as that offer is,” Tallstar begins, peeking her head into the room skeptically, “we’ve actually come with an invitation from Her Majesty, Queen Astraea. She’s invited you to join her in her compartment instead.”

“It’s a lot bigger than this. _And_ it has windows,” Starla beams. “Obviously she’s letting us share the compartment with her. But there’s plenty of room for all of us!”

“Wow…that’s…really kind of her. I-I didn’t get to talk to her much the last time we visited Siderion,” Adora fidgets slightly, falling back into her seat.

“Me neither,” Glimmer says. “Obviously she was there to formally welcome us, but I don’t think we saw much of her after that.”

“Believe me,” Tallstar says, “she regrets not being able to host you guys properly. At the time she was still in charge of surveying land for recuperation and resettlement purposes, and her advisors had her running everywhere.”

“But she was really impressed with you guys and all the work you did for the planet,” Jewelstar adds.

“ _And_ with the stories we told her the Rebellion!” Starla exclaims. “Trust us, you’ve already made such a huge impression on her.”

Adora and Glimmer share a look before Glimmer nods and takes Bow’s hand with hers.

“I don’t see why we can’t pop in for a bit,” Glimmer tries to play it off casually, but Catra notices the way she almost instantly stands and grabs her pack. “I mean, we’re here to experience Novaskall, right? And how are we supposed to do that without windows?”

“Grab your stuff,” Tallstar smiles, beckoning for them to follow. “We’ll take you down to her.”

“See?” Bow whispers to Glimmer as they begin following the Star Siblings down the hall. “We’re so high class we just got offered a free upgrade.”

“Rubbing shoulders with aristocrats already,” Adora teases, scratching under Melog’s chin, who remains lap sized as they curl around Catra’s shoulders.

It isn’t until they arrive at Queen Astraea’s compartment that Catra realizes just how badly they were cheated. It isn’t a compartment so much as it is…well, a bedroom. Granted, it’s not nearly as big as the bedrooms in Bright Moon, but it’s still plenty large for a trip that’s only supposed to take about an hour at most.

It’s cozy, too. The diamond-patterned, royal blue carpet feels wonderfully soft under Catra’s feet, and the walls are covered in rich mahogany, already giving the room a very elegant feel. Catra realizes she likes the inside of this shuttle better than the outside, the warmth and elegance of everything contrasting with the general cold, industrial nature of the shuttles themselves – which are stark white, serpent-like, and look more alien than most of the alien ships Catra has seen in their travels.

But as she admires fire dancing in hearth of the small fireplace in the corner, no doubt there to combat the gusts of chilly mountain air coming through the open balcony doors, Catra finds she can forgive the exterior aesthetics for the internal ones.

Queen Astraea is sitting on some sort of elongated velvet chair when they enter, sipping at a fizzing purple liquid in a clear glass. Her dark hair is braided and pinned into a rather elaborate bun, and she looks to be wearing a nightgown of sorts – or, at least, if it _is_ a nightgown it’s a very ornamented one: white with embroidered lace and practically dripping with sparkles. Upon closer inspection, Catra realizes that tiny crystalized stars are actually sewn into the netting.

It’s very refined and still very casual, and Catra would almost describe it as subtle were she not currently being blinded by sparkles. Honestly, Glimmer probably has a lot in common with this woman.

“Welcome friends,” Astraea’s mostly indifferent face melts into a warm smile as they enter the room. The Star Siblings all give small nods to her and step aside to allow the five of them to come closer. Catra watches in curiosity as Astraea sets her glass down and kicks off some very uncomfortable looking shoes that appear to be made out of crystal, hastening barefoot over to them. Catra’s almost expecting her to hug Adora, but the woman simply takes Adora’s hands in hers and squeezes.

“I am so glad I get to experience your first time entering the city of Heimfall Undergound. It’s such a magical experience.” She continues to take each of their hands in hers, squeezing gently, then finally scratches Melog between the ears with a fond smile. “And I’m also overjoyed that you accepted my invitation. I hope you weren’t offended at how little we spoke when you last visited,” she says solemnly, looking at Glimmer.

“Not at all, your majesty,” Glimmer begins, but pauses with a look of confusion Astraea snickers.

“Majesty? Please, Glimmer. Let’s save the formalities for when we enter city limits and I’m forced to put my shoes back on,” she drawls, looking pointedly down at her toes as they dig into the carpet. Catra restrains herself from mimicking the motion. “Join me for a drink?”

Astraea makes herself comfortable back on her couch and gestures to a couple of empty seats across the table from her. As they shuffle over to take a seat, Catra notices that even the Star Siblings have relaxed. Starla and Glory are standing out on the balcony, while the other two are fiddling with communicator pads on the other couch. It’s refreshing, if not surprising, and Catra lets her shoulders sink into the plush velvet just the slightest bit, though she remains sitting up.

As Astraea pours the drinks, Catra can feel Adora begin to fidget beside her.

“Ahem,” Adora clears her throat, sticking her hands between her thighs as she gazes warily around the room. “So…this is nice. How’d you even get a balcony?”

“Oh, I know Mairi personally. Or as you will come to know her,” she continues, “Her Excellence, Lady Magistrate Mairi. This is not my first time visiting Novaskall, and she always sees that I am looked after, though I’ve assured her many times that it’s unnecessary.”

“Well, I wouldn’t complain about having a balcony,” Bow chuckles. “We’re still in the mountains, right? There must be some amazing views.”

“There are!” Starla says, peeking her head back inside. “You can come watch with Glory and me if you’d like.”

As Bow steps onto the balcony, Astraea hands Catra and the others their glasses. Catra sniffs at the drink at first, slightly disturbed by how fizzy and, well, _purple_ it is. She laps discreetly at it and finds it reminds her of grape juice but with a sharper tang to it. She doesn’t know if she likes it, and resolves to let it rest in her lap for the remainder of the ride.

Meanwhile, Glimmer and Adora are guzzling it down.

“And I wouldn’t complain about the drinks,” Glimmer raises her glass in a toast. Astraea reciprocates with a sly smile.

“We queens need something to keep us going, right?”

“Don’t forget 8-foot-tall magical sword ladies,” Catra snorts, eyeing Adora as she continues to drink, a small purple stain appearing across her top lip. “Pace yourself, will you?” she nudges her, whispering in her ear.

Adora jerks and blinks up at Astraea, looking contrite.

“Sorry,” she grimaces.

“No need, though we must not get carried away,” Astraea sighs, gesturing to her own glass. “We’ll need to look mostly presentable while they escort us to the Protection District.”

“What can you tell us about it?” Glimmer asks curiously.

“I suppose you could compare it to the center of a giant beehive,” Astraea says after a moment of thought, swirling her drink around in her glass. “It’s home to Nova Falls Palace, where the Council of Representatives meets and all of Heimfall’s most illustrious guests reside. No doubt it will be packed for the conclave.”

“So, we’ll be surrounded by leaders from all reaches of the galaxy,” Adora blanches.

“And others,” Astraea points out. “Prime’s influence extended further than you could possibly imagine,” she says gravely, sharing a rather morose glance with Tallstar and Jewelstar. “The point of this is to allow broken nations the chance to reconnect. Some might be there to reestablish trade routes, others might seek political alliances or foreign aid. Novaskall has become a magical hub for intergalactic travelers; it does not surprise me that some of the higher members of the council would consider She-Ra a friend,” she says, looking pointedly over her glass at Adora.

“W-Well,” Adora stammers, finishing off her drink with a swift gulp, “stakes are pretty high then, huh guys?”

“It does sound intimidating,” Bow says, leaning on the balcony door. “But it’s a great opportunity and it’s nothing you can’t handle, Adora. You’re pretty great at winning people over.”

“You really are,” Catra smiles, squeezing Adora’s hand. Adora smiles softly at her and takes a breath, though Catra can feel her hand trembling just the slightest bit.

“And you were personally invited,” Tallstar offers. “That rarely happens, meaning you already have at least one ally there.”

“Oh, she’s got way more than that,” Glimmer grins, placing a hand on Adora’s shoulder. Adora sits a little straighter then, and Catra feels comforted, though she also notices the slightest sway in Adora’s posture. Nervous sketching is one thing; nervous drinking is something else.

They do eventually leave the mountains, and Catra is grateful that her ears have stopped popping. At first they’re gliding through a heavily wooded area, and they take turns standing at the balcony, admiring the greenery and the sprawling undergrowth. And yet, while this planet is clearly familiar with magic, Catra can’t help but think of Etheria and it’s golden aura of pure magical essence; the orbs are missing here, as is that sense of wonder and enchantment that she always took for granted. She’s disturbed at how magic had begun to feel like home for her, but something’s missing here.

“Lake Eternia,” Astraea says as the trees part and Catra is suddenly faced with the water, huge and sparkling as far as the eye can see.

“Eternia?” Catra hears Adora mutter behind her. She doesn’t turn to acknowledge her though, gaze fixed on the water, and Melog leaps down from her shoulders after sensing her unease. The shuttle is running alongside the lake’s edge at first, gripping as tightly to the cliffs as she is to the door, and then the ground begins to stoop and Catra can just barely see how the almost invisible lines of track make a sudden curve up ahead, as if the shuttle is about the head straight into the water. Melog returns to their normal size, allowing Catra to latch onto them while Adora remains swaying gently on the couch.

An almost musical chime sounds throughout the room, and Catra is confused until Jewelstar gently touches her arm, guiding her back until she’s safely behind the door. Starla and Bow come back in as well, and the door somehow magically seals behind them as the windows are heard locking shut.

“What’s happening?” Adora asks.

“We’re heading into the lake,” Astraea explains. “Can you see the falls?”

They move to the window, the forest having thinned enough to give them a proper view of Nova Falls. It’s ridiculously tall, definitely taller than the one at Bright Moon. Catra can acknowledge its beauty, especially bathed in shimmering sunlight, making it almost look more like fire than water, or perhaps even starlight. Yet her acknowledgement doesn’t negate the fact that she can’t stand water, and the fact that they’re about to be partially submerged as they pass directly under a waterfall does nothing for her nerves.

She braces herself as the ground disappears and all she can see is water, and it’s almost as if the shuttle is floating. Well, it _must_ be floating, all things considered, but the sensation is still just the tiniest bit jarring and reminds Catra of an elevator – how for a few brief moments everything feels a little weightless and awkward. Luckily, she doesn’t have to endure it long. The shuttle is fast, and they skate over the lake quickly using what must be magic from the conducting sorcerers.

The angle makes it nearly impossible to see exactly what’s going on, but the waterfall is wide enough to where they can see at least part of it as the shuttle approaches, and Catra and the others press their faces to the windows in time to see the plummeting droplets change subtly in color, a flash of shimmering purple appearing and disappearing just as quickly as the magical barrier is temporarily disabled.

Enormous droplets begin to pelt aggressively at the windows and roof as they pass under, causing Catra to jump back with an embarrassing yelp that has nearly everyone in the compartment laughing. It’s _loud_ , and Catra feels no shame as she and Melog huddle together on the soft carpet, fur standing on end. Adora’s on the ground with them then, drops her chin on Catra’s shoulder in a gesture of comfort. When the entire compartment suddenly gets darker, Adora takes the opportunity to peck Catra a couple of times along the jaw, and Catra is too startled to feel annoyed that Adora has tagged her multiple times in a single morning.

“Tag, you’re it,” she snorts in her ear. Catra merely shrugs her off, pulling both of them off of the floor.

“Hey, guys!” Bow almost squeals, jumping in place in excitement. “We’re here! We’re in the city!”

“Yes, we are,” Astraea confirms with a tired sigh. “Take this time to enjoy the beauty of it before the endless pomp and circumstance.”

“So, we’re in the cave.” Glimmer says, and it’s not a question. The windows are still covered by fog and water droplets, and the darkness outside of the shuttle makes it difficult to see, but soon the same musical chime from earlier rings throughout the compartment and the doors swing open once more. Glimmer stubbornly wrestles with one of the windows and finally manages to slide it open, sticking her head out eagerly.

The rest of them gather around her, and Catra sneezes as several tiny water droplets sprinkle across her nose. It’s dark here in the canal, save for the shreds of light that break through the roaring wall of water behind them, but ahead of them is nothing but light and a spaciousness Catra honestly didn’t expect. The walls surrounding the canal are high, but looming tall and proud over them are formidable edifices that seem to both harbor and reflect the cave’s ethereal golden haze. It lingers over the spires and domes, and high above, a great distance away, Catra can see various skylights positioned over different parts of the city – spilling sunlight and hazy mist into the otherwise shadowed burrow. She’s certain those skylights must also be hidden with magic barriers, else Prime would have found this place no problem.

“It’s…beautiful,” Bow says, slack-jawed.

“I think we’ll be pulling up to the shuttle harbor soon, so you guys may wanna pull your heads back in,” Tallstar advises, to which the four of them all nod at each other in agreement.

“It looks so grand,” Glimmer says, turning to Astraea. “And there’s so much light deeper in the cave. I thought we’d be trapped in crushing darkness this entire time,” she snorts, shrugging.

“The cave is very large, and there are many groves and gardens that the people of Heimfall Underground depend on to survive,” Astraea elaborates. “Obviously they have magic, but the skylights help ensure that crops are strong and harvests plentiful.”

“It’s amazing,” Adora says, leaning against the window and letting her gaze drift over the parts of the city they can still see. “And the houses here are so…natural looking?” she gawks, leaning further out so that Catra has to pull her back inside. “They’re just so open…they almost look like they’re part of the cave itself.”

“That should come as no surprise. They were built using the minerals and materials found in the cave,” Jewelstar points out.

“It kind of reminds me of Bright Moon,” Glimmer muses quietly.

“I’m more reminded of Salineas, actually,” Bow says in reply. He points at the buildings closest to the edge of the canal, their shapes fusing almost perfectly with the wall. “Look at how the water’s shaped that tower over the years. You can see all the little grooves and carvings.”

“Much of the architecture here is like that – shaped by the moisture from the cave, among other things,” Astraea says, sauntering back to her couch to slip her uncomfortable looking shoes back on. “I love the smell of old, damp stone, the glass domes, the piers, the buttresses…”

Catra and Bow begin to snicker, causing Glimmer to glare at them in warning. 

“Supposedly it takes much of its influence from Eternia’s architecture,” Astraea continues, “though I can’t say for certain how true that is.”

Adora tenses beside Catra, and Catra slides her arm around her waist. It’s mostly because she wants to, but she can also use the way Adora is still swaying from that weird purple drink as an excuse.

“You promised us you’d take us to see the greenhouses,” Starla says before turning to Catra and the others. “And I’m sure Cousin Astraea wouldn’t mind the extra company if you guys want to join us. The gardens here are supposed to be _stunning_.”

“Sounds fine by me,” Glimmer smiles, looking at Bow who nods happily in agreement. “How about it, guys?”

But Adora isn’t paying attention, she’s still staring out the window, almost caught in a trance.

Glimmer’s brow creases and Catra shrugs in response.

“Adora?”

Catra pokes Adora gently on the cheek with a claw, and it startles her temporarily out of her trance.

“Huh? What?”

“Do you want to go see the gardens with them?”

“Yeah, sure. Whatever you guys want,” Adora mumbles after a moment, biting her lip as she turns to look back out the window. Glimmer and Catra share a look of concern, but there’s no time to fret over it now.

They’ve officially arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm kind of hoping to have the next chapter up sometime this weekend, though I'm also getting my wisdom teeth removed this weekend so...I guess we'll see how that goes, haha. 
> 
> Anyways, the next chapter will take us deeper into Heimfall and its multiple districts.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra and Adora get lost. When they get found, tensions rise.

Upon docking at the harbor, they’re almost immediately ushered off the shuttle and onto priority carriages, which are apparently the primary source of transportation here for those who can afford the luxury. Catra mutters beside Adora as they are processed once more by an attendant and then allowed through, something about how she doesn’t trust the look of the carriages. 

Adora admits that they are oddly designed, metal cages set on wheels like the transport vehicles they had back in the Horde, except these don’t look very sturdy or durable. They look almost like the skeletons of the Horde’s tech, just draped in fine cloth and decorative accoutrements. The driver waves them on board, and Adora squeezes Catra’s shoulder as they climb in first, Bow and Glimmer scooting in behind then. At least the seats are plush and comfy.

“Well, this is cozy,” Glimmer says, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knees. “Honestly, we could have just teleported. They didn’t need to waste one of these on us.”

“Astraea said it’s part of the ‘experience’,” Catra sighs, glancing down at Melog in her lap. “Sorry to keep you at this size, Melog. I promise we’ll be able to stretch our legs soon.”

The carriages pull out from the warehouse, one by one in a line, and Adora is thankful she got the window seat. It gives her something to stare at without making things awkward. She pulls back a velvet curtain and leans against the side of the carriage, catching the lightest of breezes as the faint glow of lanterns grows stronger and the air begins to smell of salt and fish.

“Look at the lake,” Catra says beside her, startling her. Adora doesn’t turn to look at the others, merely stares out at the pool of water, illuminated beautifully by the lights of the dozens upon dozens of buoys bobbing on a sparkling sheet of blacks and blues. There is no skylight near here, so Adora imagines the fishermen must need all the guidance they can get. She sees some boats in the water, big and small, and hears the fishermen call to one another as they toss their nets in. Lanterns rest in the boats, filtering light into the sails – like clouds beneath the surface.

“I never thought I’d see a lake this big inside a cave,” Catra muses quietly, and Adora can feel her staring. She doesn’t turn to see if Catra’s staring at her, but she feels her gaze burning into the back of Adora’s head.

“It’s just Lake Eternia,” Bow says, studying the map they received at the shuttle harbor.

_Eternia._

Adora shivers, feels Catra scoot closer.

“You can actually see where the cave wall is letting the water through,” he explains, stretching the map out across his lap and pointing to the edge of the cave. “There must be several large gaps to let this much in, and I’m betting the water is slowly chipping away at them over time.”

“So the lake’s just gonna keep growing,” Glimmer says.

“Looks like it,” Bow nods. “Maybe it’s a good idea these people are settling above ground. This won’t affect them for a long, long time, but…you know.” He shrugs, “Never hurts to start preparing early.”

Adora can feel the carriage move differently as they hit the cobblestones. It bumps a little more, and she winces as her forehead slams against the carriage wall, pouting as she readjusts herself. But then they’re surrounded simultaneously by light and darkness, tall, crooked shadows rising above them and sparkling with string lights and lanterns and everything that amazed her back at the station.

“The Fisherman’s District,” Bow says, looking back at the map. “Makes sense…because of the lake and everything.”

“And the smell,” Glimmer says, pinching her nose. “It reeks of fish here.”

“And it’s loud,” Catra chimes in.

The buildings here aren’t as nice as the ones they’d seen from the canal, but Adora finds them charming, built from stone and clay, candles flickering in the windows even in the daylight. Lines of laundry stretch high above the streets, connecting one balcony to another, and neighbors hang casually out their windows and call out to each other, sharing the news of the day. Adora accidentally meets the eyes of one woman and her child, and then the child blinks curiously up at the woman and tugs at her apron impatiently. Adora imagines he’s probably asking about the carriages, asking who has come to visit.

“So this is market central,” Catra says as they pass several makeshift food stalls. “Got it. Now we know where to dine when we get tired of living in pompousville.”

Melog rumbles and Adora finally turns to acknowledge the others. She meets Catra’s eyes first, recognizes the question in them. Her lips thin into a line as she strokes Melog’s mane.

“Hey, you okay?” Catra whispers. “You’re being weirdly quiet.”

“Just thinking about things,” Adora whispers back, offering a small smile. “Planning ahead. Strategizing. You know…”

Catra raises a brow, looking characteristically unconvinced.

“Come on, Adora,” Glimmer smiles at her in reassurance. “You have a little time to breathe before…well, _everything_. Don’t stress too much yet.”

“I mean, if the smell is getting to you, we’re finally heading into Historic Heimfall!” exclaims Bow. “We just have to cross Heimfall Bridge and then it’s just a small hike up to the main gate. And boom!” he pumps a fist in the air, making Adora snort. “We’ll be that much closer to the palace and nice, comfy beds.”

“Ugh, nap time. Sounds amazing,” Glimmer groans, falling against Bow’s shoulder.

“I know I’m ready for a good nap,” Catra purrs in Adora’s ear, but Adora can’t bring herself to react. She’s feeling a bit too contained, and there’s too much noise, even as they leave the bustling communal atmosphere of the Fisherman’s District.

They cross Heimfall Bridge and finally catch a glimpse of the Underground District down below. An enormous column of rock reaches from the floor of the cave to the ceiling, so high up that Adora can’t even see where it ends – it disappears into blackness. The homes of the Underground District are piled high against the column, stacked on top of each other and against each other, clustered together like cavities in a beehive. But Adora notices that the district extends far past the column. It’s built into the incline of the cave, riding the hill and bordering the very edge of Historic Heimfall. It looks cluttered and chaotic, and Adora wonders what home might have looked like for her had she never been sent through that portal. She wonders if any of this is truly Eternian architecture.

There is a skylight above Historic Heimfall, and it bathes the entire district in a pleasant glow that only barely touches the Underground District. It brings out the rich details in the architecture; Adora catches sight of more carvings like the ones Bow had pointed out earlier. People in nice clothing stroll along the streets, and everything is significantly more polished. There’s various restaurants, and Adora feels a gentle nudge in her side as they pass another cakery. They even pass a theatre, and Adora thinks back to Double Trouble. No doubt it would be their first stop.

“Right, Adora?”

Adora blinks, breaking out of her trance as she hears Bow talking to her.

“Huh? I’m sorry, what?”

Bow and Glimmer frown at each other, but then Bow turns back to Adora with a tentative smile.

“I said that café we just passed would be perfect for a double date. Once we get settled?”

“Oh…OH! Yeah, that’d be great! I love…food.”

More frowns. Adora really needs time to clear her head, and this carriage isn’t giving her room to think.

“Adora…are you okay?”

Glimmer is concerned, as always, and Adora is about to smile and try and assuage her worries when Catra suddenly grabs her hand.

“That’s it,” Catra grumbles, crawling over Adora before vaulting out of the carriage. She tugs Adora out behind her, who cries out in surprise as they both hit the cobblestones. And then they’re running, Catra’s hand fixed securely around hers, and she can hear Melog following behind them.

“Catra!” That’s Glimmer. “What the actual hell?!”

“Just meet us at the palace!” Catra calls behind her. “We’ll catch up with you guys later!”

Glimmer’s angry protests fade in with the other noises of the city, and Adora begins to laugh as it strikes her how ridiculous they are – making a getaway to nowhere when they haven’t even arrived anywhere yet.

They run for awhile, laughing together, and then turn into an alley before Catra finally stops. Adora is grateful for the chance to breathe, bending over and heaving, choking on her own spit and laughter. Melog rumbles beside her, propping her up as she stumbles slightly. She’s a little disoriented, but it feels good.

“Okay,” she heaves, turning to address Catra. “What are you pla – mmph!”

And then Adora is being pressed hard against a wall, and Catra’s mouth is glued to hers. Catra threads their fingers together, lifts their hands above Adora’s head and effectively pins her against the wall. Adora blinks in shock at her, pulling away for a second, but then Catra pulls her back and Adora’s eyes fall shut as she kisses back. She opens her mouth to Catra, takes her in without restraint and groans into her mouth as Catra’s tongue snakes its way in and tangles with her own.

“Mmm…Catra,” she breathes as Catra pulls away to nibble at her bottom lip.

“Tag…you’re it,” Catra laughs breathlessly, licking at the drop of blood welling up on Adora’s lip before capturing her mouth again.

Adora smirks into the kiss, but decides to let Catra take this victory. Just this once.

They continue to make-out in the alley, Melog standing a few paces away and keeping watch, giving them as much privacy as possible. It’s only when Catra’s hips begin to grind into Adora’s that Adora decides it’s time to cut the fun short. As much as she’d love to have Catra like that, there are more important things to attend to. And she’d rather not get caught with her pants down – literally – in the middle of a city she’s still unfamiliar with.

“Okay, okay,” she says, turning her head away from Catra’s next kiss. Catra pouts but relents, releasing Adora’s wrists and backing away. “Fun as this is, we’re still on a mission.”

“Yeah, don’t remind me. But the mission can wait, princess,” Catra says, watching as Adora rubs at one of her wrists from where Catra gripped it too tight. Catra’s eyes soften and she takes it in her own hands, rubbing the angry red lines. “I pulled you away to give you a chance to breathe, since, well, you clearly needed it.”

“Give me a chance to breathe, huh?” Adora makes a show of licking her lips this time, smiling smugly. “How’d that work out for ya?”

“Oh, haha,” Catra rolls her eyes, shoving Adora away. Adora chuckles quietly, backing against the wall. Her smile fades into a frown though after a moment, one that’s mirrored on Catra’s face.

“Adora?” Catra asks softly.

Adora sighs, sliding down the wall in an exaggerated fashion. Catra sits beside her on the ground, her tail slithering around her legs.

“What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking,” Adora licks her lips, still tasting a hint of blood where Catra bit her, “that I still don’t really know…where I came from. And just…hearing the word _Eternia_ so many times and it isn’t even mid-day yet. Considering the implications of that…I guess I’m just…”

“Overwhelmed?” Adora nods rapidly.

“No one said anything to me. So yeah, I’m overwhelmed at the thought that there could be other First Ones here. Or…I guess…descendants at the very least. I don’t know.”

“It’s a possibility,” Catra says, sounding as though she’s tiptoeing around the words. “But even if there are, is that really so surprising? That you’re not the last one?”

“Of course not,” Adora says immediately. “It’s not about me being the last one. There was a part of me that always thought – always knew – that someone had to be out there. My family.”

Adora doesn’t like the silence when Catra doesn’t respond, so she continues.

“It might be nothing, okay? Maybe there’s only dead ends here, too. Maybe I won’t find answers about Eternia, or about where I actually came from. But the possibility is still there, and…I’m scared.”

“Scared of what?” Catra’s voice is very low.

“Scared of…,” Adora throws her hands in the air, biting her lip in frustration, “I don’t know! Scared of knowing. Scared of _not_ knowing. Scared of things changing. I…,” she pauses, uncertain if she can continue talking, “I…I don’t want to lose sight of what I have while looking for what I don’t have. Does that make sense?”

“Of course it makes sense,” Catra soothes, and Adora’s shoulders slump as she feels Catra’s claws gently massage between her shoulder blades. “I’m sorry you’re battling with this. I know it’s hard. It’s…something I’ve struggled with, too,” Catra mutters, looking away. Adora frowns, instantly reminded of a scruffy young girl who was left in a box, defenseless and still too young to speak – too young to do anything but cry and chew on people, really. Adora had loved her back then, too.

“But let’s get one thing straight,” Catra says suddenly, standing up and dusting off her leggings. “You’re not losing sight of anything, ‘cause I won’t let you. Sparkles, Arrow Boy, and I – we’ve always got your back. You know that, right?”

Melog pounces onto Adora then, mewing in protest. Adora laughs as she tumbles to the ground.

“Melog does, too,” Catra adds.

“I know. I know,” Adora laughs, gently pushing Melog off of her. She sits up, and when she smiles up at Catra this time, it feels more genuine. She’s breathing again.

“Good. Now, come on,” Catra says, grabbing Adora’s hand once more and pulling her off the ground.

“To the palace?” Adora asks, cocking her head.

“Oh heck no,” Catra scoffs, gesturing around them. “We’ve got a city to explore. Care to take in the sights with me, m’lady?” she asks, holding her arm out to Adora. Adora fans herself, pretending to be flustered.

“Oh Catra! I’d be honored,” she says in an obnoxiously high-pitched voice, resting her hand on top of her girlfriend’s.

\- - -

Somehow they end up in the Underground District, as Catra starts to feel uncomfortable around all the stuffy aristocrats marching around Historic Heimfall. Adora feels a little hesitant about wandering so far away from the Protection District, but she’s also She-Ra, both she and her girlfriend have been trained in heavy combat since they were very young kids, and they have a magical alien cat traveling beside them – who can also turn itself and them invisible, she might add. There’s nothing in this city they can’t tackle as a team.

She tells herself that until they really get into the underbelly of the city, traversing the steep incline of houses. Actually, _houses_ might be a bit generous; the buildings here are glorified shacks, just splintering wood and stilts. Sickly-looking water drips down, almost like rain, and forms puddles on the streets. Adora witnesses a couple scruffy-looking children splashing in them, washing their hands in them, even…

And the smell is terrible, as is the darkness that seems to shroud this place. The light from Historic Heimfall’s skylight can only reach so far, and it isn’t long before they’re at the mercy of flickering candles in dusty windows and rusty lanterns hanging from the doorway of every spooky tavern or crumbling homestead.

“Well, this part of the city has seen better days,” Adora mutters, inching closer to Catra. She glances at Melog, but finds them completely relaxed and comfortable. To her surprise, Catra appears the same way when she looks at her. She’s quietly confident, almost in a trance it seems. Her eyes are wide and excited as they stumble along the street, ignoring the suspicious glares from onlookers. “Catra?”  
Catra shakes her head, and the two of them stop.

“Sorry, did you say something?”

“Okay, now you’re getting as bad as me,” Adora chuckles, though she still feels uneasy. “Are you okay? You seem out of it.”

“Yeah…yeah,” Catra says, patting her arm. “Just…yeah, this place could use some work but…”

Catra’s ears twitch and her eyes dilate, and Adora feels as though she understands.

“Someone could easily get lost here,” Adora remarks casually, pulling Catra along.

“So many hiding places…,” Catra whispers, and the excitement in her voice is not lost on Adora. This place is a cat’s playground. She should’ve known Catra would feel at home down here – where the buildings are all built super close together and there are about a million places to climb and hide, where shadows can live without fear of blinding light or exposure.

It’s not really Adora’s thing, but she gets it. Catra had about a million hiding places in the Horde, too. Adora never figured out where all of them were.

Adora would be content to let Catra continue exploring, but they are on a bit of a time crunch and Glimmer and Bow are surely worried about them at this point. She’d honestly be surprised if Glimmer wasn’t teleporting all around the city trying to find them. She tugs lightly on Catra’s hand, threads their fingers together and squeezes in encouragement.

“We can always come back. We have time.”

Catra sighs, staring longingly at the winding maze ahead of them. She nods then, staring down at their feet in thought.

“Yeah, you’re right. We need to go.” She looks up at Adora, smirking. “You didn’t even wear the pauldrons like I told you to. Your naked shoulders are going to cause a scene.”

“Please,” Adora snorts. “You love my naked shoulders.”

“Not just your _shoulders_.”

Adora bites her lip, glancing around them for a second and ignoring Catra’s look of confusion. After a moment she realizes they’re alone; no stragglers on the street in this part of town. Odd, but she’s feeling a little reckless because of Catra.

Taking a page out of Catra’s book, Adora takes her by the hand and pulls her into the nearest alleyway as discreetly as possible.

“Wha -,” Catra manages before she’s shoved up against the side of a building. All protests seem to die in her throat as Adora rests a hand on either side of her head, caging her in. 

“My turn,” Adora murmurs, pressing their foreheads together.

Before Adora can take the prize for their little game, however, she becomes quickly aware that they aren’t so alone after all. The twitch in Catra’s right ear is what sets her off, and before long Catra is ripping herself out of Adora’s grasp, turning towards the darker part of the alley in a defensive position, claws extended and fur bristled. Melog growls beside her, red and equally bristled, posed to attack whoever interrupted them.

There are a couple figures standing ominously in front of them, donning cloaks so Adora can’t see their faces. Movement catches her eyes from above, and she glances up to see the last of them scaling the roof and climbing down the scaffolding like spiders; they land behind their counterparts gracefully, uttering not a word.

The one in front speaks in a low register, as if trying not to be recognized.

“Looks like we got fresh pickings here, Sol.”

Adora takes a defensive stance, ready to pull out She-Ra if she needs to. As if sensing this, Catra waves her down, and Adora realizes it’s probably for the best. These thugs don’t need to know who they really are if she can help it.

“Look at the shine on that one. I’ll bet it would fetch us something nice at the Den.”

Adora is confused until she notices Catra stiffen. Her gaze travels to the tiara on Catra’s head, the one she had asked her to wear. She hisses under her breath, feeling both angry and foolish that she hadn’t even considered that someone might target them because of it.

“Try to take it from me, then,” Catra snaps, baring her teeth. Melog roars beside her, flaring up even more. “I dare you.”

“Catra, calm down,” Adora snaps, not flinching before the hooded figures, not even as the one in front untucks his fists from the cloak, brandishing metallic gloves with some sort of holes in the knuckles. “Look, we don’t want to fight you. If this is your territory, I get it. We’ll leave,” she says, brow furrowing. The hooded man steps forward and Catra stoops lower, readying herself to attack.

“You’re not going nowhere, sweetheart,” the man taunts, stooping in a similar fashion to Catra. Suddenly he presses his gloved fists together, and all at once long, metallic claws shoot out from each of the knuckles.

“Catra,” Adora warns, taking a step back.

But Catra isn’t listening. In fact, she’s smiling.

“Psh,” Catra scoffs. “You think that cheap shit can take me down? I’ve got the real things,” she snarls, claws unsheathed and at the ready. Adora doesn’t have time to react as Catra braces herself against the mud and grime and, without giving it a second thought, lunges for the cloaked man.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra makes some new friends, though Adora isn't too sure of them.

Adora can’t keep up with most of it. Her eyes are having trouble adjusting to the darkness of the alley, and the only things grounding her vision are the small glints from the man’s fake claws and Catra’s wild, vibrant eyes – flashing beautifully and furiously in the shadows. She can hear Catra’s strained grunts and growls of effort. The man is much taller than Catra, but she is able to dodge most of his blows. She’s fast – faster than anyone Adora’s ever known. But this guy is pretty fast, too.

A fist shoots out, aiming for Catra’s face, and she jumps out of the way – up so high that she’s temporarily balanced on the man’s glove. He bellows in rage, sweeping his other glove across the way, and the claws just barely brush underside of her feet as she jumps once more. Using his head to propel herself, Catra flips over his form and lands on the other side, crouched low in the mud. Before he can turn and attack, she darts to the side and manages to lands a hit, running her claws down across his hip and tearing his cloak. 

He makes a choked sound, likely one of surprise, but there is nothing to suggest pain. Catra reverts back into a defensive position, tail lashing in frustration. Adora wants to run between them, to stop whatever game this is. And she knows it’s a game and not a standard mugging because the others are still watching in the back, their silhouettes emotionless and unmoving. Beside her, Melog is still red and roaring with rage, but it seems Catra has either instructed them to stay out of it or to protect Adora. They remain by her side, the two of them helplessly watching as Catra throws herself back into the brawl.

This time she takes the initiative; she throws a punch, though its easily blocked, and then she throws another – higher this time – but the man grabs her by the wrist and hoists her above him. Curling up in mid-air, Catra kicks his stomach hard and does a backward somersault off his chest. The man grunts and staggers just a bit, holding his arm out as a shield, and Adora thinks the kick might be a good enough distraction; she wants to grab Catra by the hand and run. But Adora’s heart drops when he recovers far too quickly for them to try to make an escape, and she feels the ground fall out from underneath her when Catra moves back in just as he decides to take a swipe at her.

“Catra!” Adora cries out when Catra yelps in pain, her hand immediately falling to her side. It looks like he nicked her just below her armpit. Catra wobbles a bit, taking a few steps back and holding one hand protectively over the wound as she watches him lumber slowly towards her, her ears pinned back and entire body heaving. Adora sees a few trickles of blood stain the torn velvet, pooling around Catra’s fingers.

“Heh…hah!” the man pants, voice loud and boastful. “Just one hit and you’re out? Such a fragile thing.”

He crouches lower to regard her, and Catra takes the opportunity to try and vault over him. She grabs the hood of his cloak, pulling it lower as she reaches across his back, digging her claws into the back of his neck where whatever armor he’s wearing doesn’t extend. He yowls in pain and catches her once more on the leg, scrambling and reaching out blindly in an attempt to pull her off. Despite blood leaking down her side and her thigh now, Catra holds on and kicks upward as hard as she can, striking him in the face just underneath the chin.

The man stumbles back, falling onto his back with a groan. The hood slides off, and Adora’s gasp is mimicked by Catra.

He has ears – like Catra’s. Well, _obviously_ that’s not the only thing he shares in common with Catra, but it’s the first thing Adora notices. Covered in reddish-brown fur, they twitch and then fold down as he curses and groans in pain, though he doesn’t lift his head from the ground.

“Whiskers of Saz,” he says, seemingly stunned. “Little bitch probably loosened a tooth.”

“Then you should thank her,” a female voice purrs from the onlookers behind him. One of them steps forward, the one in the very center. She lowers her hood freely, and Catra and Adora both come to the realization that they are surrounded by magicats.

Well…that explains the versatility.

“You’d be prettier without the snaggletooth,” she says to her guy on the ground, though she doesn’t take her amber eyes off Catra and Adora. Meanwhile, the other cloaked figures chuckle behind her and the guy finally pulls himself into a sitting position. He loosens his hand from the glove and rubs at his jaw woundedly, glaring up at Catra. Adora notices with some curiosity that his fingers are void of real claws – it isn’t that they’re retracted. They simply aren’t there.

Adora, at this point, feels confident enough to step forward and take Catra partially in her arms, throwing an arm around her waist to steady her.

The woman blinks at this, looking bored despite all the commotion she apparently started, then turns to regard Adora. Adora takes a moment to study her and realizes that she doesn’t exactly look like a bandit. She’s too polished – her dark hair looks well-kempt and shiny, tied back in a sleek ponytail. Her ears are pierced – like a pirate, Adora thinks for a second – but they’re studded with what looks like small, white crystals. Definitely not cheap and not something some common street thug could come across.

She’s older than them most likely, but her features are slightly rounder, perhaps even softer than Catra’s. The thin fur covering the rest of her body is just a shade lighter than her mane, but is equally shiny and nearly uniform save for a white patch of fur on her neck that looks suspiciously like a star.

“Is this one yours?” she asks, nodding to Catra. Adora feels Catra seize up as the woman steps closer. She holds her a bit tighter.

“Who wants to know?” Adora dares, feeling a little braver. She loses some of that resolve when the woman continues to look bored.

Apparently losing her patience with Adora, she turns to Catra, eyes gleaming with interest.

“You seem surprised to see us. Never met one of your own kind before?” she smirks, crossing her arms.

“No,” Catra bites out. “And with good reason, apparently.”

“Not so,” the woman shakes her head. “I’d wager you could have killed Dusk in ten seconds flat if you had just a week’s worth of training with someone like me,” she says, voice laced with clear intent.

Catra and Adora share an uneasy glance, but Catra nods and Adora realizes she wants to stand by herself. Warily, Adora helps prop her up, pressing her hand softly to Catra’s lower back instead.

“Kill me?” Dusk objects from the ground. Adora notices the various fresh-looking scratches marring his face, scattered among much deeper, older ones – light brown patches that stick out against his darker fur. Catra clearly left more marks than he was leading on. “Sol, come on. You can’t mean that.”

“Sol?” Catra questions, lifting a brow. She crosses her arms, too, no doubt trying to mimic Sol’s confident stance. “That’s your name, then?”

“Grab a drink with me and I’ll tell you what it’s short for,” Sol winks, and something inside Adora wants to kick some ass next.

“Cute,” Adora cuts in with an irritated huff. “Now that you’ve finally answered _that_ question, maybe you can answer this one: Why did you attack us?”

“I didn’t attack you,” Sol says simply. “My guy Dusk attacked you,” she cocks her head over at Dusk, who hisses under his breath. Catra’s expression is smug when he beckons to one of the others to help him stand.

“Okay, fair,” Adora sighs. “But he did it on your orders, right? And now you’re talking with us and everything’s cool and even _Melog_ is relaxed,” she gestures frantically at Melog, who is sitting at calm as can be at Catra’s side, nuzzling her wounded leg in comfort. “Like, are we fighting or not?”

“Woah,” Sol laughs, looking impressed for a second. “Your friend’s bleeding and you’ve been watching slack-jawed this entire time and _now_ you’re raring to go?” Adora feels the heat rise to her face and something awful bubble up inside her as Sol turns away from her again to talk to Catra.

“Where’d you get her? She’s a peach.”

“She picked me out of a box,” Catra mumbles, shooting Adora a warning glare. “Long story.”

“Don’t have time for long stories,” Sol laments, rolling her shoulders. Then her posture straightens a bit, and Catra feels more alert as the amused glint in Sol’s eyes sobers into something more serious, and perhaps a bit more sincere. “But I meant what I said. You find us again, and we’ll have plenty of time to talk.”

“And why would I want to find you?” Catra asks, eyes narrowing.

“Because you’re new around here, and instead of hiding it you’re parading it around – almost like you’re looking for a fight.” Sol’s eyes travel up to Catra’s tiara, and Catra shrinks under the weight of her gaze. Adora knows what she’s thinking. They were reckless.

“So, if you _are_ looking for a fight, or if you’re just curious, or if you have a death wish, or if you just need to toss back some puddle water,” Sol winks again and Adora clenches her jaw, “then come find us again, and we’ll fix you up nicely.”

“Who is… _us_ , exactly?” Catra drawls.

“The Bloodmoon Shadows. We own this part of town, even if the folks you’re rubbing elbows with can’t acknowledge it.”

Sol puts her hood up again, then retreats back into the darker part of the alley with the rest of her people. She pats Dusk’s back as she walks past, muttering something to him about walking it off. Dusk glares back at Catra one more time, and Adora watches as Catra meets his glare with her signature smirk. He bristles, then fiercely throws his hood back on and scales back up the wall, following those who had already left.

Sol pauses and turns back to Catra and Adora, though they can no longer see her expression.

“See ya, alley cat,” she says before making her own exit. Adora watches her go, notes the ease and precision with which she uses the various loose stones and crooked beams to scamper out of the alley and, after a few moments, out of sight completely.

They stand in silence for a bit, processing what has just occurred. Adora glances at Catra in concern; she’s still bleeding, though she looks more dazed and distracted than in pain. And Melog is still calmly sitting beside her, which means Catra herself was like just as confident for that entire interaction. Sometimes Adora wishes she had Catra’s composure – something she realizes with some amusement she would have never said a couple years ago.

“Well that’s…,” Adora starts, not sure what exactly she’s wanting to say, “…that seems like trouble.”

Catra makes a noise of agreement and nods.

“I told you. People in cities like this are crazy.” There’s no bite or suspicion to her words, though. In fact, she’s awfully quiet, looking at Melog but also more or less looking through them. Then she sighs, and Adora leans closer, letting Catra sag against her. “Let’s get back. I think it’d be safer if you healed me behind closed doors,” she says, gesturing to her injuries.

They take the shortest route out of the Underground District, and Adora yearns for a nap the entire time.

\- - -

The march up to Nova Falls Palace is slightly exhausting, as Adora can’t manage to flag down another carriage for the two of them to ride back in. They end up both climbing atop Melog when Catra’s side starts to bother her a bit, and Adora sits carefully behind her, holding her in place.

“If Swift Wind had come we could’ve flown there,” Adora says in Catra’s ear, laughing in delight at the hiss she’s rewarded with.

“If Swift Wind had come you’d no longer have a girlfriend,” Catra says.

“I really don’t understand the rivalry between you two.”

“Hey, I don’t mind rivalries,” Catra points out. “I’m sleeping with my old arch-enemy,” she teases. “It’s the _talking_ and the _singing_ I can’t get behind.”

“You sing, too.”

“Yeah, but I’m good at it,” she smirks, and Adora nuzzles into her neck.

It isn’t long before they’re leaving the lights of Historic Heimfall behind, and then they’re passing through one of the main squares that leads up to the palace. Dozens of startled citizens squawk and quickly jump out of the way as Melog barrels through, and neither Catra nor Adora can help but laugh despite the unpleasantries shouted at them by some of the stuffier folk.

This part of the cave is clearly the most altered; Adora looks up and can see how the ceiling was chiseled out, parts of it resembling vaulted ceilings. She can’t imagine the scaffolding needed to reach that high. And though this part of the cave is largely covered in shadows, Nova Falls Palace awaits ahead like a beacon in darkness, perched high above the rest of the city so that it may overlook everything and everyone at once. A small skylight of its own hangs overhead, so high that Adora can’t actually see it behind both the natural and manmade archways and columns. But everything underneath it is bathed in light – bouncing off the luminescent walls and painting them an almost pale blue. Meanwhile the palace, spherical and layered not unlike a cake, glows in the very center as light pools from its windows and countless balconies. Hanging torches line each side of the bridge; the flames flicker, fiery orange against the hazy blue, and make for a dazzling sight.

“I thought castles only had moats in stories,” Catra says when they approach the main bridge to the palace. True enough, water surrounds the palace’s grounds on all sides except for the main entrance. Adora can see the flames reflected in the black water, and her eyes follow the gentle, rippling current, past the palace, to some sort of crevice in the cave wall so far back that it isn’t even illuminated by the skylight. Adora squints, feeling as though she sees some kind of blockage in the darkness. A wall? A dam? The mist makes it near impossible to make out. 

“I don’t really want to deal with all these people. Do you?” Catra asks.

Adora looks ahead and understands what Catra means. People are literally lined up outside the palace gate, their carriages pulled off to the side as their belongings are sorted and likely sent up to their rooms. Catra and Adora’s belongings were in the carriage with Bow and Glimmer, so they’re likely already waiting for them in whatever room they were given.

“Nah, I’m with ya,” Adora grins, then leans forward to scratch Melog on the ear. “How about it, Melog? Think you can sneak us in?”

Melog mewls in agreement, and Adora shivers as Melog’s cloaking magic drapes over the three of them, turning them invisible.

Getting inside the palace is an amusing feat, even while invisible. While they manage to avoid most of the people on the outside, as Melog has little trouble balancing atop the edge of the bridge, traversing the inside of the palace is a completely different story.

For starters, there’s a courtyard they have to pass through before they can reach the main reception hall. This would be fine, save for the fact that the courtyard is packed with not only people dressed in all sorts of pompous, ridiculous clothing, but also various musicians of differing musical talents scattered throughout, approximately fifteen food vendors from different planets boasting over their tables of _delicacies_ (and honestly, Adora is both disgusted and intrigued by some of the stuff she sees on each table), and random entertainers in colorful garments, most of whom appear to either juggle or swallow fire – or both.

“If we all swing by here, we’re _so_ hitting the alcoholic tables first,” Catra says.

“You know it,” Adora chuckles in her ear before they take off again.

The next step to freedom and soft pillows involves them accidentally knocking some confused attendants over as they manage to locate the kitchens and the grand ballroom – which is currently being decorated for the Introductory Reception. Adora only manages to catch a quick glimpse of the indoor waterfall and enormous chandelier before Melog is racing off again, skidding around each corner and sliding on the checkered tile floors while Catra encourages them on.

“Quick reminder that we’re not here to destroy the palace,” Adora whines, flinching as a vase crashes to the floor after Melog accidentally hits it with their tail.

“You’re no fun,” Catra groans. She bends over to whisper something in Melog’s ear, and the space cat almost immediately stops, causing Adora to fly forward into Catra’s back.

“Hey!” Adora objects, rubbing her nose tenderly. She sneezes once, then glares at Catra’s back. “What’s your probl –,”

“Shhh!” Catra raises a hand to silence her, and Adora sees that one of her ears is twitching.

“Great. More bandits?” Adora whispers sarcastically.

“No,” Catra grumbles, and Adora can’t tell if it’s a legitimate growl or just Catra’s usual grumbling.

She gets her answer when a cloud of sparkles appears at her side.

“Found you!”

“Waaaah!” Adora yelps, falling off Melog and onto the cold, tile floor. “Glimmer…why?” she groans, face still pressed into the floor.

“Why?” Glimmer repeats. Adora lifts her head and meets Glimmer’s childish glare with one of her own. “Are you seriously asking that? We’ve been here less than twenty-four hours and you two jump out of a carriage, run off to She-Ra knows where to do…I don’t even _want_ to know, and then decide you’re just going to sneak into Heimfall’s most protected government building and romp around like you own the place!”

“Sparkles, can we take this somewhere else? I’m still kind of bleeding here,” Catra points out.

“Bleeding?!” Glimmer screeches, making Catra wince as she moves closer to inspect the wounds. “But…how did you…where did you two…,” she trails off, pinching the bridge of her nose as she takes a deep breath. “Okay,” she says on the exhale. “Okay. But you’re still in trouble,” she says to Adora, picking her up off the floor.

“We’re so afraid,” Catra says, rolling her eyes.

“I was talking to Adora,” Glimmer snaps, wagging a finger at Catra. “But _you_ – I’ll deal with you later.”

Catra sticks her tongue out at Glimmer as she walks ahead of them, leading them to sleeping quarters of the palace. Adora shuffles behind, knowing well they got off easy.

\- - -

After explaining what had happened to Bow and Glimmer, and enduring a lecture from both on concepts like “safety in numbers” and “maybe don’t just attack someone wearing gloves with _literal_ daggers in them,” Adora and Catra are shown to their own room, finally allowed to clean up and, as Glimmer had worded it, recuperate from their horrific and completely unnecessary ordeal. And Adora is grateful, because the longer a wound goes untreated, the more uncomfortable the healing process will be, and Catra was already limping to begin with.

“For the Honor of Grayskull,” Adora says quietly as she approaches the four-poster bed where Catra lay in just her underwear. Catra watches as she’s engulfed in light before reemerging as She-Ra.

“Let’s get on with it,” Catra says, tail lashing slightly. She always hates this part for whatever reason, and Adora knows it has nothing to do with She-Ra. Catra has shown on numerous occasions that she’s actually quite attracted to Adora’s alter-ego. But Adora suspects the healing process brings back certain memories, and Catra isn’t alone there. She’d rather Catra never got hurt either.

“Easy,” Adora says, kneeling beside Catra. “They’ll be gone soon,” she says, lifting a hand carefully to the scratch on Catra’s thigh. Gently, as gently as possible, she runs her finger along the raised skin, watching Catra’s face carefully for her reaction.

To Adora’s surprise, Catra doesn’t hide. Her ears fall back, and she looks regretful.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers, placing her hand on top of She-Ra’s much larger one. “I’m sorry I worried you. I…I should have had Melog take us away at the first sign of trouble.”

Adora blinks in surprise, and then her face softens as she takes the hand atop hers and squeezes it, moving her pointer finger up so that it brushes the soft underside of her wrist. She feels Catra’s pulse, and that comforts her.

“It’s not just your fault. I’m the one who told you to wear the tiara. And I’m the idiot who decided it was a good idea to drag my girlfriend into an alley when literally everyone else had already vacated the streets,” she rants to herself, stroking her thumb along Catra’s wrist. “My observation skills are shit.” 

“I mean,” Catra shrugs, smirking, “I wasn’t complaining.”

Adora blushes, and it’s so strange feeling butterflies in her chest when she’s She-Ra. She-Ra is supposed to be all confidence and one-liners. She isn’t supposed to feel giddy or stupid in front of her girlfriend. But she still does – every time.

And Catra must know this, because her hand cups She-Ra’s cheek and pulls her forward into a tender kiss. Before either know what’s happening, She-Ra’s entire body is glowing and that glow is being transferred to Catra. But Catra doesn’t let go; in fact, she attempts to deepen the kiss, running her tongue along She-Ra’s bottom lip. Adora shivers, but allows her tongue to enter, and the two continue to share that closeness even as the magical rays of light die down, and Adora transforms back without even realizing it.

“Look,” Catra breathes, directing the attention down to her waist and thigh. “They’re gone. You were right.”

Adora smiles softly, running her hand up and down Catra’s side. She crawls onto the bed beside her, but continues to caress that spot. Catra, who very much enjoys being caressed by her girlfriend, starts purring. Her eyes are lidded with exhaustion, and Adora feels herself go weightless at the realization that they’ve finally made it to nap time. At long last.

“Mhm,” Adora hums, running her hand atop the damask bedspread. “Real comfy, huh? This place is even cozier than the shuttle,” she says, feeling her own eyes grow heavy. The candlelight around them becomes blurry and distorted.

“It’s a lot bigger, too,” Catra says through a yawn. “C’mon. Let’s get some sleep.” She wraps her tail around Adora’s leg. “We have people to be and places to meet tonight.”

“Don’t you mean…?”

“I meant what I meant,” Catra chides, flicking her on the nose.

“Sure,” Adora says before finally drifting off, laying there beside her alley cat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cut this chapter in half because the pacing seemed better that way. The next chapter will include new characters, general reception stuff, and...maybe even some "explicit" material. I guess we'll see.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're faced with new challenges at the Introductory Reception, and Adora quietly decides that night that she only wants Catra.
> 
> This chapter is rated "E."

Catra doesn’t feel good. Maybe it’s a side effect of being healed by She-Ra, maybe it’s because she hasn’t had a proper meal all day, or maybe it’s just her nerves getting the better of her. After a short discussion with the rest of the group, she had agreed to let Melog stay behind to scope out the rest of the palace while they attend the Introductory Reception. But now she regrets letting them go, feeling naked and vulnerable knowing she doesn’t have the option to simply turn invisible at the drop of a hat.

At least she looks hot, if she does say so herself. Momentarily returning to her signature color scheme, she’s wearing a black cloak with red lining over a rather nontraditional top: loose and silver and typically not her style, but it was gifted to her by Astraea, and so refusing it didn’t really feel right. 

Adora, the only person keeping her steady right now, didn’t bother with dressing up even though Astraea also offered her a rather flattering dress to wear. She chose to attend as She-Ra naturally, despite Catra’s insistence that Adora’s hair is fine the way it is. Glimmer, on the other hand, graciously accepted a lace number of purple and blue adorned with crisp, silver leaves. Her hair is pinned back with matching silver accessories, though these were borrowed from Starla, and before leaving Catra had made the comment that Glimmer had somehow outdone herself with the sparkles. She’d stuck her tongue out at the time, temporarily lowering herself to Catra’s level, but it isn’t difficult to see by the way she walks next to Bow, head held high and eyes bright and sparkling, that she enjoys wearing the dress. Catra knows she’s been worried about fitting in with the other royals, for whatever reason. She’d never say it out loud, but she’s almost positive Glimmer could outshine them all – or at least seriously kick their asses.

Catra does feel a little sorry for Bow, however, and shoots him a wry smile. His suit, lent to him by Jewelstar, matches Glimmer’s in color and design, though the embroidery of the leaves is a bit more subtle. And really, that’s the entire problem with the suit: It’s far too subtle for Bow. He hadn’t even had the time to quickly tailor an ab window before they departed, and so he’s sulking just the slightest bit next to Glimmer, though he manages to crack a small smile upon meeting Catra’s gaze.

“Ho-kay,” Adora breathes as they come to the back of the line. It appears everyone is entering the ballroom one by one. Catra can already feel her fur bristling with impatience. “Everyone got your invitations just in case?”

“Seriously,” Catra grumbles, “we’ve had to pull out these damn things at least fifty times since we arrived.”

“We might not need them,” Glimmer says, placing a hand on Catra’s back. “But better safe than sorry. I don’t think any of us are really sure what to expect from tonight.”

“I’m expecting good food, great friends, and dancing until I can’t feel my feet!” Bow exclaims, looking as though he’s going to start dancing in the gallery.

“Oh yeah!” Adora says, high fiving him. Though she’s still She-Ra, so he has to hop a bit to actually reach. It’s at this point that Catra realizes that nearly everyone in line, both ahead of them and behind them, are sneaking glances at She-Ra and whispering amongst themselves. She can hardly pick out a single word with all the noise, though she notes with a hint of relief that most of their expressions seem to be awestruck rather than judgmental or intimidated. Still annoying, but she can work with awestruck.

“Hey,” Adora’s voice croons near her ear, “any good gossip to tell me?”

“You’d like that. Wouldn’t you, princess?” Catra rolls her eyes, though she can’t hide her smirk from Adora. “I’ll have you know that none of these people are talking about you. They’re talking about the hot magicat accompanying you. Who knows? I may get a few dates tonight.”

They’ve played this game long enough to where, in most cases, Adora no longer sputters or tries to fight back. She plays along, knowing what it does to Catra when her hand sneaks under the cloak to wrap around her girlfriend’s much smaller form, fingers pressing lightly against the side of her breast.

“I don’t blame them at all. You look stunning,” she whispers. “But you are wrong about one thing.”

“And what’s that?” Catra swallows, wishing they could just skip this whole event and spend the rest of the night in bed.

“You only have one date tonight. And it officially begins the second I get you alone.”

“Oh yeah? Got any big plans?” Catra asks, hearing Glimmer groan behind them.

“Not really,” Adora shrugs, a mischievous glint in her eye. “But that top doesn’t really fit you. I’m just _waiting_ for you to take it off.”

Their mutual snickering is interrupted by an exasperated Glimmer.

“Both of you better behave,” she hisses through gritted teeth. “Or I swear on Bow’s ab window that neither of you will attend another party for the rest of the trip.” Next to her, Bow sniffles and clutches at his heart.

“Do you have to remind me of everything I’ve lost?” he asks her with wide, watery eyes.

_“Welcome, Countess Nimue of Aquarii.”_

As the line really begins moving and they approach the doors, Catra can hear the names of various guests being announced as they descend the grand staircase.

_“Welcome, Commodore Arrow of Montressor and the United Etherium Colonies.”_

_“Welcome, Lord Cassio and Lady Ochessa of the United Kingdom of Purrsia.”_

“Purrsia?” Bow gasps somewhere behind Catra. “Is that…?”

“Yup,” Catra confirms, catching a glimpse of two well-dressed magicats descending the staircase arm in arm.

“You going to try and talk to them tonight?” Adora asks, sliding her hand into Catra’s when the other girl forgets to walk for a second.

“Don’t know,” Catra murmurs. “Kinda just want to keep my stomach from turning.” Perhaps she should be more worried about making alliances. After all, the main reason they’re here is to call attention to their mission to restore magic to the universe, as well as to find supporters.

But Catra is momentarily distracted by this new view of the ballroom. The waterfall sits further back, and it’s a little difficult to see over some of the heads in front of them, but she thinks it’s changing colors. The chandelier dangles above everything, white tentacles of glass swirling downward like a tornado of light. Catra and Adora had only been able to sneak a glance before, but it’s enormous and rather unique in design. It somehow both belongs and clashes with the décor of the palace, looking like a mess of vines among the stone columns and open, vine-covered walls, and yet it draws attention from everything else, including the grand waterfall, whose changing colors are being reflected in the chandelier itself. They bounce around the room, changing its hue from purple, to blue, to green, to red, and so on.

Catra is so busy looking at so many things that she doesn’t even notice when it’s their turn to descend, that is until she realizes the announcer guy is asking her something.

“Huh? What?” she blinks widely at him, her ears twitching every which way, her eyes surrounded by colors and moving shapes.

“Your names,” he sighs, impatient.

“Oh! We have invitations,” Adora says, pulling hers out and trying to hand it over to the man. He waves her off.

“I don’t need those. Just your names.”

When Catra fails to answer again, Adora once more steps in.

“Uh, I’m Ado – ah, I mean, _She-Ra_. And this is Catra,” she nods at Catra, who finally has enough presence of mind to glare at the annoyed look on the guy’s face. It quickly shifts to one of awe, however, and much to Catra’s delight, one of nausea as a wave of realization washes over him.

“D-Did…you say She-Ra? As in _She-Ra, Princess of Power_?”

“Uhhh….yes?” Adora says, shuffling uncomfortably. The announcer looks as though he’s about to fall over.

“M-My apologies,” he stutters, doing an awkward half-bow. “Forgive me, She-Ra. I was instructed to have someone escort you to your booth post-haste.” He gestures to a lady on the floor wearing the same fancy suit. Her eyes widen as she catches sight of Adora and Catra, though mainly Adora probably, and she almost immediately abandons the nobles she’s speaking to and ushers up the stairs, nearly tripping on the carpet in the process.

“My booth?” Adora asks, cocking her head. “We get a booth?”

“I didn’t see you call an escort for the people in front of us,” Catra points out.

“Apologies for the delay,” the lady says, bowing to them. “If you would follow me, please. A private table has already been reserved for you.”

Glancing at each other in surprise, Catra and Adora follow her without argument.

_“Welcome, She-Ra, Princess of Power and Warrior of Etheria and Catra, Hero of Etheria.”_

“Can’t believe I’m here with the Hero of Etheria,” Adora giggles quietly. Catra only scoffs and rolls her eyes, trying to play it cool despite literally everyone in the ballroom looking at them now.

“I hate that,” she says, her face suddenly burning.

“It’s just acknowledgment. Besides, they aren’t wrong.”

Catra whips her head in Adora’s direction, glaring at her with disbelief. Adora’s face is still gentle, as always. She’s smiling, though Catra won’t let herself be wooed by it just yet.

“We aren’t having this discussion right now,” she decides, watching curiously as they’re lead past some gossamer lilac curtains into a slightly more private corner of the ballroom. Catra is relieved, as this space is only inhabited by a select few tables and a balcony, temporarily curing her sensory overload and allowing her to breathe in the fresh air. They snuggle into the booth, which is surprisingly plush, and are soon joined by Bow and Glimmer.

“So not that I’m complaining,” Bow starts as a server fills some of the empty glasses with water, leaving the accompanying flutes empty for a different beverage, “but why are we suddenly getting the VIP treatment?”

“I don’t know, but if it means I don’t have to socialize yet, I’m fine with it,” Glimmer answers, taking a sip of water.

“You literally said back in the room that you couldn’t wait to impress everyone here with your grace and worldly knowledge,” Bow teases, nudging her slightly so that she chokes on her water.

“Bow!” she sputters, fumbling for the napkin on the table as the others laugh.

“I’m teasing,” he says, grabbing it for her and using it to tenderly pat her face dry. “I know we’re all tired. We just got here and, yeah, I’m not exactly feeling the crowds yet either. So, this is honestly fine with me.”

“Look, we’ll do a bit of talking tonight just to feel things out, okay?” Adora smiles encouragingly. “But this is just a reception. I don’t think we really need to start stressing until the actual conclave.”

“So we’ve got a few days, then,” Catra muses, stirring a claw in her water.

“Three,” Glimmer clarifies. They all sag into the cushions in unison.

Catra watches lazily as a man and woman joins them behind the curtain, notices that the guests at some of the nearby tables choose to stand in their presence, and wonders if they should do the same. The man and woman merely nod to the other tables, and Catra realizes that they’re actually heading towards her and the others.

“So we weren’t deceived,” the man says. His gaze is fixed solely on Adora, seemingly scrutinizing her. “She-Ra sits as a guest at our table.”

Catra glances at Adora, watches her try to decide whether to stand or remain seated.

“We received conflicting reports about what you actually look like,” the woman says kindly, almost bashfully. She’s the first to take a seat across from them, and Adora settles. “We’ve heard much about you, but had no idea you could actually change your form.”

“Oh…yeah,” Adora smiles. “That’s kind of a thing. Sorry if I’ve seriously confused you guys or anything.”

“No, I want to apologize,” the woman says, leaning forward. The man sits beside her, waving for a server. One approaches and begins filling their flutes with some sort of fizzy white liquid, reminding Catra of the purple drink from earlier. “I meant to arrange better quarters for you on that shuttle, but I’m afraid time got away from me. And there was so much confusion during check-in, with some of the attendants reporting in that you’d arrived and others saying they weren’t sure it was actually you…” she trails off, shaking her head.

“Ahem,” the man clears his throat, catching the woman off guard, “Ri, you might want to…” he gestures to the rest of them, and her face grows red as she realizes that they’re definitely not all on the same page.

“Oh, you poor things. You have no idea who we are,” she laughs, golden earrings jangling. It isn’t a hard guess for Catra. Aside from the earrings, multiple bracelets, and the circlet resting atop her brown curls, all made out of gold, the woman is lavishly dressed in a white gown and cloak. The gown itself is simple but elegant, tied off with a leather belt, and highly resembles what Catra had seen other Novaskall aristocrats wear while she and Adora traversed the city. Her sandals are gold as well, but look somewhat unusual to Catra. Through the slit in her dress, Catra can see that they almost come up to the woman’s knees.

“Lady Magistrate Mairi,” she says, placing a hand on her chest. “And my brother,” she gestures to the man beside her, “Lord Magistrate Cadoc.”

“A pleasure,” Cadoc says, taking a sip of his drink. Catra’s nose twitches, as she can smell the citrus from where she sits. She’ll stick to water.

Cadoc, though just as elegantly dressed as Mairi, doesn’t appear to share her love of small talk. As Mairi launches into another round of apologizing and explaining how they had both sought She-Ra’s assistance, then backtracking when she realizes that She-Ra isn’t the only one sitting at the table, Cadoc merely watches She-Ra with curious but calculating eyes.

Catra sees the resemblance between them physically: the same curly brown hair, same brown eyes, same strong jawline, and even the same dimples. But Mairi is clearly more adept at vulnerability than Cadoc, not only in how easily she falls into a new conversation, but in the way she dresses. For example, Cadoc seems intent on covering up rather than cutting loose, the collar of his jacket rising all the way to his neck, and Catra sees the gleam of silver armor under his cloak. He’s protected, as if he were attending a military inspection instead of a reception.

This is why Catra can hardly believe it when Mairi states that it was actually Cadoc’s idea to host She-Ra.

“I’m honored,” Adora flushes, “really, but…”

“How come you wanted her here so badly?” Catra interjects.

“We’ve heard people are rarely personally invited to things like this,” Glimmer adds, and Catra rolls her eyes.

_Let it go, Sparkles._

“True,” Mairi nods. “It is very rare. But how could we not invite the warrior who saved the universe? You restored magic to your home planet, and have done the same for others. You may have noticed already, but Novaskall is a planet that marries magic and tech. I believe this union has only made us stronger, more versatile.”

“Not everyone would agree,” Cadoc hums, his eyes glazed over in thought. 

“Unfortunately, this is also true,” Mairi sighs despairingly. “Before you defeated Prime, magic had not been seen in the universe in centuries. I think you’ll find more than a few planets who are still highly suspicious of it.”

“That’s what this mission is about,” Bow explains. “Trust me, I know first-hand how suspicious people can be of princesses and magic. My friends had to help me convince my dads that our cause was a good one. That’s why we need to take magic to these planets and just _show_ them – really give them the chance to see the good it can do.”

“Well, you have our support,” Mairi smiles. Adora opens her mouth to say something when her stomach grumbles rather loudly.

“Sorry,” she grimaces. “It’s been a _really_ long day and we skipped lunch.”

“I offered to grab us something on the way to the palace,” Catra says airily, but Adora kicks her under the table. In reality, she had offered to steal some food from one of the stalls.

“Well, luckily for you they should have just started serving dinner. I noticed awhile ago that the noise had lessened to a dull roar,” Cadoc points out. “Not to mention the pleasant aromas wafting past the curtain.”

Right on cue, a number of servers roll some carts into the space, delivering a variety of courses to each table. Catra, feeling less nervous now, feels her stomach rumble with longing. She needs to eat, too.

“I hope you enjoy,” Mairi beams at them, “and please, take whatever you’d like. We like to eat with our guests before we make any formal introductions. It gives people time to settle in, and we understand how hungry traveling makes some people,” she giggles at Adora, and Catra realizes endearingly that her girlfriend is already drooling.

They place the main dishes in the center of the table, giving each person their own plate so that they may take what they want. Catra is intrigued by a plate of squid tentacles glazed with what appears to be squid ink. Cadoc digs into the dish almost immediately, transferring several tentacles to his own plate. Adora, of course, grabs one of everything. Everyone else plays it a little more reserved, herself included. Mairi seems content with fish salad, and Bow and Glimmer are both drawn to the bread stuffed with cheese and some sort of meat. They split a loaf, using the utensils on the table to eat even though Catra is fairly sure you’re supposed to eat it with your hands.

“What may we call you, then?” Cadoc asks Adora suddenly, catching her mid-bite. She lowers the pastry in her hand and regards him politely.

“I’m sorry?”

“Your name, child. Surely it isn’t She-Ra.”

“O-Oh! Just call me Adora.”

“Adora,” Cadoc repeats, sharing an odd look with Mairi. “Beautiful name,” he says, scooping some rainbow-colored pasta onto his plate.

“Thanks,” Adora replies, taking another bite of her pastry.

“And…Bow, was it? I’ve heard you in particular are tech-savvy.”

“Bow makes his own arrows,” Glimmer smiles, rubbing his arm affectionately.

“Is that so?” Cadoc says, suddenly looking more awake than he has for the entire conversation. “Remarkable.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I’m definitely not Entrapta, but yeah, I know a few things. Mostly arrows,” Bow shrugs, blushing.

“Well, as Minister of War, I may need to have a private conversation with you in the near future. If you’d allow me the honor, that is.”

“The honor would be mine, sir,” Bow smiles, and Catra is startled when his gaze suddenly shifts to her. “But if it’s war you’d like to discuss, you should also consider speaking to Catra. She’s the real strategist here.”

Catra doesn’t know whether to kiss Bow or claw his face off.

“Both of you then,” Cadoc nods. “I’ll mark it on my calendar. But tell me, Bow, what do you know of First Ones’ tech?”

Catra expects a bigger reaction from Adora, but she merely slows in her eating and glances up, suddenly more interested in the conversation than in the food.

“Um, precious little I’m afraid, sir,” Bow squirms, glancing at the others. “Obviously we’ve come across it many times back home, but messing with it always seems to end in disaster for us, so…”

“Save for meeting your friend, of course,” Cadoc nods to Adora, and everyone stops eating. When Adora continues to look stunned, Cadoc continues. “You are a First One, are you not?”

“How did you…?”

“We are, as well.”

“Cadoc, I thought we agreed not to dump all of this on her at dinner,” Mairi chides, watching Adora with concern. Catra glances at Adora, who looks mostly composed save for the faint shine of sweat on her forehead. “We are descended from the First Ones,” she explains. “We’ve never visited Eternia. In fact, no one seems to have any idea where it is. Our family has resided on this planet for centuries with no communication from them.”

“But this was a First Ones' settlement, right?” Adora asks. “Before you broke communication. That’s why Astraea mentioned the Eternian architecture.”

“And why the hangar looked like it was built from First Ones’ ruins,” Catra adds.

“Yes,” Mairi nods. “You’ll find there are several ruins above ground. We’d love to show you sometime,” she says to Adora. “There are a few projects in particular we could use your help with.”

This makes Catra bristle. They’re already on a mission, and these strangers are already asking Adora for help with their problems. But then, she should’ve seen this coming.

“Pardon me,” Glimmer says, looking skeptical, “but wouldn’t this just interfere with our mission to convince people that magic is good?”

“In my mind it would actually help,” Mairi says. “We’ll need She-Ra’s magic to help uncover some of the secrets these ruins hide. Think of how that would look to people who continue to doubt. If we’re using it to reclaim the planet and secure territory above ground, to secure knowledge, then how can they argue against it?”

“Well, I suppose I can help,” Adora says, looking thoughtful. “I mean, I can read First Ones’ writing. And I have experience with First Ones’ ruins.”

“And it’ll give you a chance to explore the planet above ground,” Mairi says in encouragement. “We already have settlements up there and I know they’d love to meet you. Adora, you could do so much good for Novaskall, and that in turn could do so much good for your mission.”

“Sounds like you need She-Ra’s help with a lot of things,” Catra grumbles, crossing her arms.

“Sadly, yes. There are several things we’d like to discuss,” Cadoc says, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “But that will have to wait for another time. My sister and I will need to officially welcome the guests in a second.”

“Is it already that time?” Mairi laments, taking one last sip of her drink. “If you haven’t already, you should try the wine. We have an assortment of different kinds here, and I’m a bit of a connoisseur.”

“Oh, we’re familiar,” Catra smirks at Adora and Glimmer; both look sheepish.

“Well then, it was a pleasure speaking with all of you,” Mairi says, standing and bowing to them. Cadoc follows suit, but turns to leave without another word. “I would like for us to visit more, and I know Cadoc feels the same, so keep an eye out for word from our personal secretaries.”

And with that, they’re left alone again. Though she’s pleased to have a full belly, Catra finds she’s even more restless now than when they arrived.

“So…” Glimmer breathes, smiling weakly, “…time to mingle?”

\- - -

They tumble into the room like they’ve spent the entire night drinking, kissing sloppily and grabbing at each other as if this is their first time all over again.

“Okay,” Adora says, breaking the kiss and lifting Catra in her arms, feeling her purr as she wraps her legs around Adora’s waist, “so who wins this round?”

“We’ll have to call it a draw,” Catra hums, dipping her head to nibble and suck at Adora’s neck. Adora bites her lip and groans, knowing there’s probably going to be marks on her skin in the morning and debating whether or not she should bother healing them. She laughs breathlessly, knowing what Catra would say if she asked.

Catra chuckles in response, no doubt confused by the laughter, but she doesn’t bring attention to it when she captures Adora’s lower lip with her teeth, licking it tenderly after.

“Take me to bed,” she murmurs against Adora’s mouth. She kisses her deeply again, the rumbling of her purr never ceasing.

“Did you bring the toy?” Adora pants, stumbling as she tries to find the bed while kissing Catra. Their tongues meet and Catra moans loudly, then whimpers with disappointment. She refuses to stop kissing Adora, however, and Adora takes her sad noises to mean that she’d forgotten to pack it.

“Did you bring the slick at least?” Adora asks, dumping Catra on the bed and straddling her hips.

“Shit…I think I left it on the ship,” Catra frowns, hands sliding up and down Adora’s waist apologetically.

“Oh well,” Adora says, leaning down to peck her lips sweetly. “We’ll just make do for now. But I’m going shopping the first chance I get.”

“And forget to buy what we actually need,” Catra snickers. “I know how distracted you get when you shop, Adora.”

Adora meets her smirk with one of her own, stripping herself above Catra and delighting in the way Catra’s breath seems to leave her for a moment when Adora pulls her bra over her head and flings it across the room.

“Yeah, but you distract me worse,” she hums. Catra leans up to kiss her again, and Adora melts as Catra’s hands begin fondling her breasts, massaging the tender flesh and teasing her nipples the way she likes.

“Is that what I am?” Catra sighs, leaning down to take a nipple in her mouth. She sucks on one breast and massages the other, feeling lightheaded as Adora begins grinding against her, though their bottom halves still remain fully clothed. “A distraction?”

“Y-You’re so much more than that,” Adora says through various gasps and whines. “But yes, at the moment you make for a delicious distraction.”

“Delicious, huh?” Catra removes her mouth for a moment, and Adora shivers. She watches as Catra unclasps the cape and then struggles to pull the silver blouse off, only asking for Adora’s help at the last moment. The last thing they need to do is tear holes in Astraea’s clothing. Carefully, Adora pulls the blouse over Catra’s head, tossing it aside to join their other clothes. “Hurry up and taste me, then.”

“And I thought we agreed to skip dessert,” Adora says, making Catra laugh.

Adora doesn’t feel comforted after their conversation with Mairi and Cadoc. She knows Catra left that night feeling irritated as well, muttering something under her breath about people taking advantage of Adora, of always asking too much of her. And Adora, eager to please as she is, rarely rejects those in need, even at the cost of her own physical and mental health. It’s something she’s had to speak to Perfuma about, too. Catra had insisted.

Turns out she’s no less eager to please in the bedroom. Except here Adora knows she’s loved and wanted for who she is. She knows she can and wants to give and give everything she has to Catra without reservation. And what’s more, she knows she can take whatever she needs from Catra in turn.

So, she lets herself take. She kisses down Catra’s thighs as she strips herself completely naked for Adora, lets her hand run through Catra’s thick hair as she pulls her closer, embraces the slick warmth of Catra’s mouth against her own, shivering in pleasure when she’s reminded what that mouth can do elsewhere.

When they finally press together, completely free of their clothing, Adora feels the overwhelming urge to let Catra take control. She flips them so that her love is on top, and Catra settles into her role nicely. Leaning back against Adora’s legs, Catra adjusts both of them until their sexes meet, the feeling of that hot wetness between them pulling desperate, eager moans from both of their throats. Catra begins the dance like that, hands resting behind her on the mattress, hips moving slowly at first, allowing them to simply feel each other. And then feeling each other is not enough, and Adora places her hands on Catra’s hips and begins guiding the pace, unable to relax and just take it even though that’s what she wants. Instead, she drives them both into a hungry frenzy.

“Ah…ah…f-fuck, Adora,” Catra whines, her voice beautifully high pitched as she slides and bounces against Adora, the slick sounds of their arousal echoing throughout the room.

“Catra!” Adora gasps, arching her back and lifting her hips so that she may meet her more fully. She’s whimpering, clutching Catra’s hips so hard she’s afraid she’ll leave marks. But Catra doesn’t say anything, so Adora doesn’t relent. “Oh, Catra. Love you,” she pants, realizing that the bedframe has begun knocking against the wall with the force of their thrusts. “Oh, fuck me,” she groans, biting her bottom lip and letting her head loll to the side as she takes what Catra gives.

She can’t think about what comes next or what the next few days will be like. None of it matters. The only thing that matters is Catra above her, her dripping sex sliding over Adora’s, and the desperate whines and curses coming out of her mouth.

“Am fucking you,” Catra pants, placing her hands over Adora’s so that they stay on her hips, digging her claws in just enough. Adora sighs in reply, embracing the minimal pain. “I want you to cum. Cum for me, baby,” Catra sobs, and Adora listens.

They ride it out together, crying out in the emptiness of the room, so loud Adora swears the candles around them flicker.

Moments later, as they lay sweaty and satisfied but still somehow so painfully aroused, Catra leans in and kisses Adora again. And Adora knows this bed is where she’s needed most.

**Author's Note:**

> All thoughts are loved and cherished. <3


End file.
